Highschool Hanyous and Miko Memories
by Moonfiregoldeyes
Summary: Inuyasha Takashi has had 17 years of ordinary life, but in his junior year he meets Kagome Higurashi, a broken courages girl he can't get out of his head. And highschool's just the beginning. Inu/Kag, Mir/San, Sess/Rin Ratings may change
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE: Dreams and Demons

Oppressing black, so thick that it cut the air off from my lungs. Fighting both panic and the thick red comforters, I fumbled for light, knocking over a glass of lukewarm water which felt like ice down the side of the desk. Damn, where was that fucking lamp? Cursing it thickly, I managed to get my head on straight and control the fear that was coursing fast with my blood. Cracking gold eyes, I used the small amount of star and street light from my window to find the stupid thing. By the time I had returned light to my room, my nightmare was fast fading from a blown up terror to nothing more than a memory gray and stale with age.

Of course, it still seemed real. The way his mother had died, and his father long gone. Alone, maybe not yet completely, but still alone. Sesshomaru had never been the loving brother that you'd wish for, but he took his 'responsibilities' as eldest to heart. If he had a heart. The only thing he truly cared for was his rising 'empire' and of course Rin. She was a true life saver. She grounded and humbled his brother, and made him human. Heh, human, that was good. That damned Inuyoukai would kill me if I even looked at him like he was human. _Blood, little brother, is everything. You are only half youkai, and not worthy to live in my household. Be thankful that our father asked this of me, or you would be living on the streets._ Hmp, like I want to live with that overbearing ass.

The red numbers of the alarm clock said 6:30. I didn't have to be up for another half hour at least, but lingering images drove all thoughts of sleep out of the realm of possibilities. Shutting the alarm off, I stretched lazily and rose from the cocoon of warmth to the cold hallway. Damn, I hated winter. Pretty, cold, and wet. Defiantly not worth the four months that it held onto with a death grip. Moving silently down the hall, I nodded to the early servants and went to find breakfast. Food, then a shower. It was good to have priorities.

The cook was making breakfast; pancakes, sausage, and ramen. Yumm. Taking a heaping plate into the downstairs den, flipping the TV on in case anything worth watching was on. No such luck. Giving up after 15 minutes of channel surfing, I finished my plate and dropped the dishes onto the counter. Maid would get that, I needed a shower. Sweat from my nights' mental wonderings rumpled my hair and clothes, making me feel sticky and gross. It would only get worse, as _that_ day approached. Three weeks. And they would stop. For only a year, but that year would be blissfully empty of nothing to do with Izayoi or her death.

Shaking my head to clear it of clutter, I grabbed a quick shower and made my way down to the garage. Maybe, just maybe, I would be able to avoid him if I moved fast enough. He knew what was going on, and he wouldn't miss the opportunity to rub it in my face. Yes, there's the Viper, and his brother was no where in sight. Just a few more feet-shit!

"Little brother, are you avoiding me?" His cold, condescending tone irritated the hell out of me.

"Fuck you." I snarled, wrenching the door open in anger. I was surprised it didn't come off in my hands, a little disappointed too. It would make a heavy projectile.

"We've had this little talk. I am not interesting in men. I care not for your-"

"Shove it Sesshomaru. I'm not in the mood to banter with you, so if you want something, spit it out. Make it fast though, I have to get to school." I threw my bag in with more force than was necessary, wanting to throw the damned thing at his head. He needed to be taken down a few notches, but again, I wasn't in the mood to play his mind games.

"I am just reminding you of the banquet at the end of the week. You can invite your friends, but make them look presentable. And find yourself a date." He turned without another word, leaving me gaping at his back, resisting every each to rip his arms off and beat him with it.

_**Buzzzzz.**_ My back pocket, and its contents, vibrated madly. "Yeah?" I ripped the cell phone out and growled into it.

"Where are you Inuyasha? I'm standing out here in the snow! Sango still has my coat, and it's cold!" His best friend's voice, muffled and chattering, growled back at him. "Get your butt down here and pick me up!"

"Sango has your coat? How'd that happen?" Wrong question, I knew that as soon as it left my mouth. Now I'd have to listen to Miroku's ramblings all the way to Shikon High. Perfect morning, and it was only 7:15.

"I shall tell you when you pick me up! Hurry up, or I'll have icicles on my-"

"Don't need to hear that." I hung up, tossing the phone unceremoniously on the dash. Sango first, then I'd deal with the letch. She, of course, wasn't waiting outside, so I had to go in and get her. Her brother, Kohaku, let me in, waving goodbye to his younger sister and heading for work. As she went for the door, I couldn't resist. "Don't forget Miroku's coat. He's freezing his ass off without it." She blushed, and stammered, racing up the stairs to fetch it. I could make out a soft crash and a muffled curse from her haste, and laughed as she flew past me to the car. "What's the hurry?" I moved easily into the car ahead of her, watching her with an innocent expression on my face. "Can't wait to see your _boyfriend?_ Oww, hey!" I pushed myself away from her as she viscously attacked my head.

"Shut up! Just drive you stupid arrogant jerk!" She raised her fist again to smack me, and I flinched. Smirking her revenge, she settled into the seat.

"Sorry, didn't know you were so sensitive." I muttered, and pushed the car into traffic. Five minutes later, and we found Miroku's shivering form huddled against a tree.

"Finally! What the hell took you so long?" He climbed into the back seat, not even taking the time to give a token argument about Sango being in front. "Turn the heater up! We aren't all half youkai you know!" He grabbed his coat from Sango's arms and curled in a ball in the back seat, teeth chattering together loudly.

"You wimp. If you would have waited in _the house_ like normal people, you wouldn't be freezing." I chided, glad that I had picked Sango up first because now he would keep his mouth shut about whatever the hell had happened. I didn't really want to know about it this early in the morning.

"Why the hell were so late? It isn't like you to sleep in." He moved his hands to the heater, leaning over Sango to reach the warm air.

"Didn't get much sleep at all last night." I slammed the brakes on as I was distracted by the sudden burst of emotion in my chest. The little old lady gave me the finger as she hurried across the street, and my sensitive ears picked up on her mutterings about 'spoiled rich kids who couldn't drive a tricycle'.

"Why not?" Sango caught on and shoved an elbow into his shoulder. Ignoring the looks the two passed, I fiddled with the radio. "Oh, sorry." He sat back, subdued by the realization.

_Whatever. Just don't think about it._ I told myself sharply, and decided to change the subject. "Business dinner this Saturday, you coming?" I parked the car in a parking spot, and dragged myself out of the car.

"Of course, who's going to keep you out of trouble?" Sango followed me up the steps, leaving Miroku to catch up. She laughed at my growl and shoved my shoulder. "Don't give me that look, I've known you since we were two. I know what you'll do, given the chance."

"Sango, my darling, your skin is as soft as the snow that falls from the EIIHH!" He gave a yelp and fell backward, a pink hand print staining one cheek.

"Hands. It's too early to deal with you." She said, not turning around. She continued to talk with him, something about a test or something, and I tuned them out. Taking a deep breath, I frowned as something new caught my nose. Turning, I studied the press of bodies that pulsed around me. Where was that scent coming from? It was burning through me, making me shiver. It was _delicious._ Burning, yet gentle, and somehow it soothed my aching soul. Flowers, wind, sunshine, spring. All wrapped up with something else. Something so pure I couldn't even begin to describe it.

"Inuyasha? You ok?" Miroku touched my shoulder, drawing me out of my trance. I almost answered him, when the object that was emitting the scent walked right under my nose, making my head snap as I followed her. She looked nervous, and scared, and lost. Most of all, she looked sad. I wanted to pull her into my arms and make that go away, to hold her until she smiled. I trembled, thankful for all the people that kept me from doing so.

"Em, excuse me." Her voice rung in my ears, driving the breath from my lungs just as effectively if she had drop kicked me. Sango smiled at her, and the girl offered a tentative smile in return. _She's gorgeous…_ "I was wondering, em, do you know where this class is? Someone was supposed to show me around, but he never showed up…" Her voice drawled off, and her chocolate eyes flickered under bangs to glance over at me. She blushed, knowing that I was gawking at her, and tensed up.

"Sure. Here, let me see your schedule." Sango looked over the piece of paper while the girl did her best not to look at me, and I couldn't take my eyes off of her.

"I know your half dog youkai, but that doesn't mean you can pant after someone so literally. Keeping your tongue in your mouth, it's really starting to freak me out. And you're drooling." Miroku whispered loudly to me, making blood rush to my face. My hand drew over my mouth, even though I knew he was poking fun. Still, he wasn't exaggerating that much. I must have looked stupid, staring at her so dumbly. Nice first impression.

Kagome's Schedule

1. History

2. English

3. Art

4. Photography

Lunch

5. Chemistry

6. Calculus

7. Dance

"Let's see, oh. We've all got the first three classes, and Miroku's got the fourth. We've all got the same lunch, and Inuyasha has Chemistry and Calculus at the same time. I've got dance too. It'll be nice to have someone to talk to in that class. The guys have gym, and they refuse to acknowledge me. Come on, if we don't hurry, we'll be late." Sango, a take charger by nature, gripped the girl's arm and steered her to the commons. "My names Sango. What's yours?"

"Kagome." She said softly, a little frightened by Sango's gung ho force. Give it a week, and she'll be used to it. She looked over to us, who were just staying out of Sango's way. We didn't want to be dragged into another one of her projects.

"Miroku. Your beauty is stunning." Of course, he was flirting right off the bat. 3-2-1. "Will you bear my children?" Whack! Sango smacked him upside the head, sending him crashing into my side. "Sango." He moaned, holding his head. "What was that for? I was only joking."

Kagome was staring at him with wide eyes, and to my surprise, she let out a small chuckle. Sango rolled her eyes, and went on to tell her to ignore the henti, everyone else did. "And the quite one is Inuyasha." Sango laughed, her knowing eyes meeting mine. "Don't put too much stock in the first couple meetings, he just has to put his brain into motion. Give him an hour, and he might just say something intelligent."

"Oi!" Sango just laughed and continued to lead Kagome to the classroom. We quickly snagged a table in the back. Miroku and Sango exchanged evil smiles and took one side of the table, leaving Kagome to sit next to me. Oh, they would die a slow and painful death. Glaring at them, I slammed my book onto the table with more force than I intended, making the nervous girl beside me shriek and jump. "Sorry." I muttered, giving my eyes a rest from staring at her and just studied the book, until Sango reached over and put it right side up.

"We know your smart and half youkai and all, but even you can't read upside down." She joked, pulling her own book out and using it as a shield from my pencil.

"Mr. Takashi, please do not throw things in my room." Mrs. Wolff snapped from behind her desk. Even with her back turned, she still caught whatever I was doing.

"Sorry Mrs. Wolff, won't happen again." I called over, retrieving my pencil from the floor. When I turned right side up, I was face to belly with someone. Leaning back, I decided I should have stayed in bed.

"Kikyo." I said, clenching my pencil in my fist.

"Hello, Inuyasha." She purred, moving to put a hand on my neck. I flinched away, scooting my chair away until I pushed against Kagome's.

"What do you want?" I growled softly, not taking my eyes off the wall behind her. I had no reason to be polite to _that_.

"I just wanted to see if my cousin was having a good first day. And to say hello to you of course."

"Cousin?" I looked back at Kagome, who was staring at Kikyo with such loathing I felt a burst of happiness. They didn't appear to be close cousins. She did look similar, same hair, cheek bones, and build. Her eyes were different, and Kagome was much cuter. "Well, you've done both, get lost."

"Hardly the way you should treat me. I mean, I am one of the hottest girls in the school, and being hot and rich yourself, you should really reconsider my earlier offer." She leaned down, hair falling into my face. Swiping it away from my nose, I snarled up at her. Like I'd ever date that bitch, not after what she pulled last year.

"Just because Naraku ran off, doesn't mean I'm going to come running back to you. Bye now." I lifted my lip in a warning show of teeth, hating the way she smelled. Once, I would have rubbed my nose into that shinning black curtain of hair, but now all I wanted to do was gag.

"Don't be that way Inuyasha, you'll make me cry." She pouted, reaching up to tweak one of my ears. I flattened it into my hair, away from her cold fingers. "See ya later, dog boy." She whispered, and flounced away. She sat next to Kagura, Kanna, and Yura, laughing at something one of them said.

"She makes me want to commit murder, just to get away from her." I snarled, moving my chair back over to give Kagome some breathing room. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that." Kagome shrugged, twiddling with a scrap of paper in her hands. "Is she really your cousin?"

"Yeah." Came the almost incoherent reply. She didn't look up from the table, and I had looked over to the peanut gallery for some help. Sango shook her head, and Miroku looked as confused as I felt. "After the-" She paused, and I saw her shoulders shake, repressing sobs. I could smell the faint scent of salt, and sadness came off her in waves. "accident, I moved here with my Aunt Kaede. Kikyo lives there too, and she is slowly driving me insane." Suddenly, her gaze snapped over to mine, making me incline backward. "You must be the guy she's always going on about. I must say, you're nothing like her description. From what she's says, I was expecting some rich jerk." Did that mean I wasn't a jerk? Did she like me? My ears perked up at that thought, and continued to perk up as she went on. "All she could talk about was how she had to have the hottest guy in school. After" another pause, and this one sat heavier as her eyes burned hatred as she spat the next word out. "_him_, she was all alone and couldn't stand that. I just wish she had taken off with that lowlife. Life would defiantly be better." The last bell broke off her string of words, and she looked startled that she had said so much. Blushing, she went back to staring at the desk.

"Alright class, we have a new student. Ms. Higurashi, please stand up." Mrs. Wolff waited until Kagome sat back down before she continued. "I don't have a book for you yet, so if Mr. Takashi would be so kind as to share, we will continue the lesson." As I moved the book between us, Miroku whispered something to Sango who giggled madly. Kicking him under the table wouldn't work, he was sitting diagonal to me, so I made a memo to get him later.

The class went by slower than usual, but I was not complaining about that. Kagome stirred the air continuously, nervous fingers twirling strands of ebony between them. Every fresh wave hit me as hard as the previous, and I had to stop my own fingers from massaging her hand, or stroking her face. I didn't catch the looks that my friends continued to cast in my direction, or the small bet that Sango initiated. My whole being was wrapped so tightly around the girl I wouldn't have noticed an earthquake. I kept expecting her to shove me away, to tell me I was too close, but instead she did the opposite. Ever so slightly, she relaxed enough to lean into me, not close enough to touch, but the change in position was obvious. I could hear her heartbeat in my ears, soft and slow. She felt safe, everything about her said that. Scent, posture, heart rate. Why though? Why would she trust me that much?

The questions started buzzing around more persistently when we headed for the next class. She walked beside me, unconsciously gripping my arm as the rest of the school body shoved next to her. When she tripped, over what I didn't see, I caught her without a second thought. Holding her close until her balance returned, I shivered with joy at holding her softness against me. Tucking her closer than need be, I walked her to the door, not releasing my hold on her until she was safely in the classroom. Convinced that I had crossed some unspoken line, I waited for her to tell me off, ears quivering in anticipation.

She looked up at me, and I relaxed when I saw the gratefulness in her eyes, and my ears flicked forward in relief. I'd hate for her to be mad at me, but I couldn't resist embracing her. Her brown eyes went from my face to my ears, eyes widening with wonder. "Those are so cool." She whispered, and her hand rose slowly towards them. She stopped short of touching me, fingers curling into a fist. Embarrassed, she tensed, and blushed three times worse.

"It's alright." I said, tipping my head forward so she could reach them without standing on tiptoes. "Just don't pull on them." I froze as her fingers brushed the edge like a butterfly's wing before becoming braver and trailing down to the base. She gently massaged them, feeling the soft fur and exploring the velvet warmth. Unable to stop myself, I began to purr in response to her touch to one of the most sensitive areas of me. Eyelids drooping, I leaned into her hand, urging her to carry on. I didn't know how long I stood letting myself drift into the blind pleasure of her touch before a scent I didn't want to experience made me jerk away.

"Kouga." I snarled, and was rewarded with a snarl in return. The wolf youkai was not looking at me, instead watching the girl in front of me. Stepping between them, I crossed my arms over my chest. _Mine mine mine! _My youkai side howled, spots of red dancing in my vision. 'Keep your hands to yourself, she's _mine!_' was the glare I sent him, and he returned it without blinking.

"Hey Kagome. What are you doing with that freak?" They knew each other? How the hell did they know each other?

"Kouga, it's great to see you!" She came around me to give him a short hug. He returned it, smirking over her shoulder at me. "How are Ginta and Hakaku? And Ayame?"

"Fine. Ayame and I are going out to the mall this Saturday. She wanted me to invite you to go with us." His eyes narrowed and looked at me from the corner, and I clenched my fists to stop myself from jumping him.

"Oh, sorry. I'm going to a dinner or something with Sango." She waved to Sango who was laughing at my shock. "Maybe next weekend?"

"Sure, see ya later Kagome." He bowed over her hand, brushing his lips to the back of it in the barest kiss. Smirking at me, he cocked a hand and took off out the door. As the papers stilled from his whirlwind, Kagome went to talk to the teacher in the front of the room.

"You invited her?" Sango winced, and then nodded. "Why didn't you ask me? When did you ask her?"

"I didn't ask you because you'd freak out. Look, your already freaking out." I growled at her, and Miroku sighed. "And I asked her went I took her to the nurse." Kagome had passed a note to Mrs. Wolff that said she had to take some type of medicine and Sango had offered to take her there. "Are you upset because she's going? I can uninvite her if you want."

"No, that's not why I'm ticked." I dropped into the chair across from her, sighing. "I would have asked her." I muttered, and put my head in my arms.

"Yeah, when you got over whatever she's doing to you. Which I think would be never." Miroku pointed out, and I had to admit he was right. Damn, whenever she was around, it was all I could do to remember to breath. "Look, you need a date, Kagome wants to go, so what's the big deal?"

"I could have asked her myself." I groused, pulling out my notebook. "Keep your damned noses in your own relationship. You don't see me sticking mine into yours."

"Get over it." Sango pointed a finger at me, a warning glint in her eyes. Glaring at her, I decided to drop it only because Kagome had come back. "Kagome, where do you live?"

"Oh, over on Elm." She was flipping through the English book in a distracted kind of way.

"How do you know Kouga?" I was jealous, jealous because a girl I barely knew knew some guy I hated deeply.

"Hmm? Oh, Ayame and I grew up in my old town, before she moved here. We stayed in touch, and when she started dating Kouga, I got to know him and the twins." She pulled out a sketch pad, and idly flipped to a blank page. Since in this class you actually had to take notes, I was forced to pay more attention to the teacher then to whatever she was drawing. Every once in awhile she would stop to jot something down on notebook paper or look over to me, but then she'd continue drawing. Her hair formed a curtain between me and whatever was on the page, and neither Sango or Miroku would tell me what it was. Before class ended, she must have finished because she slipped the pad back into her bag. Curious, I reached for it, and got slapped for my trouble. "Please stay out of that." She whispered to me, pleading me silently. Nodding my consent, I stifled my curiosity out of kindness. If she wanted to show me, she would. I wasn't going to pry.

Art was uneventful, we were still with a sub who didn't know anything about art. Basically, it was a free for all that Sango used for 'chick time' and made me promise not to listen in on the conversation. Shooing us off, Miroku and I retreated to the corner with the few guys that had started a card game. The sub was engrossed in a pile of fashion magazines, every so often telling us to quite down and 'work'. Still, even beating the crap out of the others at poker, when the ability to smell a lie came in handy, I couldn't stop from watching the two girls in the opposite corner. I kept my promise, I didn't listen in, but I still watched. Sango had convinced her to pull her sketch pad out, and was studying the drawings with interest.

She stopped at one, and smiled. Kagome peeked over her shoulder and blushed darker than earlier. If she didn't stop blushing so much, she might just develop Rosetta. She looked at me, and turned several darker shades of red. Sango looked up at me, and then back at the picture. She whispered something to Kagome, and pointed down at the paper. Kagome violently shook her head, and whispered something back. If I really wanted to, I could have heard what the said easily, but that would be an invasion.

Raising her hands in defeat, Sango went on with flipping the pages, stopping at a few and offering comments. Still, I could see her finger hold the place on the other, and she would switch back at odd moments, comparing it to the others. Kagome gave up in trying to stop her and just sat beside her, reading a black bound book with nothing written on it.

"Inuyasha! Stop gawking and place a bet!" Thankfully, for whoever said that, the bell rang and gave them reason to vacate the room. Sango passed the notebook back to Kagome and directed her to follow Miroku. Sango followed me down to Trig, sending me sly grins and asking innocent questions about what I was wearing to the dinner party.

The class inched by, and the clock seemed to be stuck. Finally, the bell rang for lunch and I bolted, running all the way to Photography class. I beat Miroku and Kagome out the door, leaning nonchalantly against the opposite wall. Miroku raised his eye brow at me, but didn't say a single syllable. It was unusual for me to meet him after class, we met up in the cafeteria most every day, but he choose to keep his mouth shut. Good for him, I might just let that comment from earlier go. Maybe. "Kagome," I started, taking her English and History books from her so she could balance her backpack more carefully. What did she have in there? It looked like a small yellow boulder strapped to her back, and it looked about as heavy as one. "Don't you have a locker?" I asked, hearing her grunt at the weight.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure where it is." She dug into her pocket to pull a crumpled white piece of paper out. "Locker number 615." She shoved it back into her pocket, and hefted the back up on her shoulders.

"Come on, we can be a little late to lunch." Like I was going to let her carry all of that stuff around. "What do you have in there anyway?"

"Let's see, clothes for Dance, my camera, two sketch pads, three of my favorite books, and class supplies. Oh, and my lunch. I couldn't fit those two texts in there, thanks for carrying them." She reached for them, but gave up when I refused to hand them over.

"I'll carry them, you've got enough anyways. Here, that one." I nodded at a bank of lockers, indicating one on the left end. "Combination?"

"I'll get it, thanks." She remarked, and something akin to fear brushed on the surface of her eyes when she noticed we were the only ones in the hall. Steeling herself, she undid the lock and yanked the books from my grasp. She threw her clothes, camera, one of her sketch books, and two of her books from the bag before slamming the locker door shut. The nose rang harshly in my ears, making me flinch. What was her problem? Did I say something wrong? "Cafeteria?" She asked, eager to get away.

Head dipping low minutely, I waved an arm in the direction we came from. Great, she realized I'm a filthy hanyou and now wants nothing to do with my sorry ass. Can't really blame her, can I? Keh, she probably thinks you're going to eat her now that you're alone together, or worse. That thought alone made me shiver in disgust. "Kagome, I wouldn't hurt you. I'm not some slavering blood thirsty animal." I said, soft enough under my breath that she might not have heard.

"Not you Inuyasha." She said back, voice hard from suppressed something. "I just" She stopped, walking and talking. Studying the wall on her left, her shoulders hunched together. "I was raped, and I don't like being alone with guys. It's not you." She whispered, and a small shutter ran up her body. "It was ten months, one week, and two days ago, you'd think I'd have gotten over it." A sad laugh ended the sentence, and she looked back at me. The sadness and hurt was written all over her, and a small tear formed in one eye. "And I still count the days. Sad isn't it?"

"No. It's not sad. You have every right to be sad, hurt, pissed, afraid. Whatever you want to be." She gave me a watery smile and sniffled. Leaning down so we could see eye to eye, I lifted a hand to brush the tear from her cheek. "Don't cry though, you shouldn't cry." She froze under my touch, and I knew I had gone too far. Duh, you don't touch someone after they say that. Especially if you were a guy. "Sorry." I whispered, and withdrew, clenching my hands in fists at my sides.

Sobbing roughly, she threw her arms out and around my waist, burying her face in my chest. Startled, I clasped my own arms around her and held her there, comforting her with little noises of nothing. "Hey, it's ok." I tried to get out, and she ended up crying harder. Picking her up as smoothly as I could manage, I carried her to the nearest bathroom. Peaking inside, I shoved the door open with my foot and swung her into the small white room. I locked the door with my free hand, drawing her close with the other to keep from dropping her. Sitting on the window sill, I rocked her back and forth as she cried and cried. I heard the end of lunch bell, and the late bell to fifth period. Ignoring them, I continued to hold Kagome to me, letting her cry without trying to stifle her. Those weren't sobs you tried to stop, they would end when she got everything out, or she fell asleep. From the way things were going, she would end up falling asleep before she stopped crying.

Her hands gripped my shirt, holding on to it like a life line. Holding on to me like a life line. Cradling her, I rested my chin on top of her head. Breathing deeply, my anger and frustration washed away with her scent. I wouldn't leave, I wouldn't let go. Not unless she wished me away. Stroking her hair, I relaxed into the window, letting go of everything that had happened over the 16 years of my life. I just began to talk, filling the silence that was occasionally broken by her own small stutter of breath.

***Flashback***

_Ten years ago, my mother's birthday. Father had the place decorated top to bottom, simple and expensive all at once. The nanny had spent most of the day corralling me into a suit, and keeping me out of trouble. Sesshomaru wasn't happy about being there, grumbling as only a twelve year old could. It wasn't his mother, so he wasn't planning on sticking around long for the 'human tramp'. Even at twelve, he was a heartless bastard._

_ "Father, when's mommy getting home?" I pulled on his sleeve, and smiled up at the white haired man. His body was one of a warrior, and he had been a general in the army before he retired to become a business man. His ruthless business deals were always fair, and he refused to stoop to illegal means. He tried to instill the same in Sesshomaru, but all he saw was 'pureness' and 'worth'._

_ "Soon, Yashie, soon." He picked me up, twirling me in a circle. "Do you want to see what I got for her?" He smiled slyly at my enthused squeals, pulling a thin black box from his pocket. "Think she'll like it?" He flipped the lid, and laughed at my reaction. A dazzling white gold chain adorned with two white diamonds and a single ruby lay between them. He snapped it shut when he heard hurried footsteps coming down the hallway, sitting me down on the floor with a ruffle of the hair. "See? You're mom's rig-" He stopped, nose flaring. He turned on the man that had walked through the door. "What?"_

_ "Sir, it's Mistress Izayoi. The airplane, it" He looked up at my father's terrifying snarl, and gulped. "It crashed sir, there were no survivors. I'm sorry." He bowed, and ran for his life._

_At the time, I didn't understand what was going on. All I heard was my father's mourning howl and my brother's shocked expression. He might not love the human woman, but he knew our father did. Too young to understand, I sat down and played with the jewelry box that had slipped from Father's hands._

_Later, after had been made official, and the funeral held, the dreams began. In them, my father blamed me for Izayoi's death. Everyone did, everyone but my mother. She would hold me like she did when she was alive, not saying a word. Father didn't blame me of course, I would know that when I got older. Now, he would take me to every recommended therapist in the city, and than the country. For almost three weeks, they didn't go away, and I began to refuse to go to sleep, screaming and crying whenever bedtime drew close._

_They ended the day my father died. A carjacking that ended badly, that's all that was said. Case closed, and everyone went on with their lives. One of father's friends and business partners raised us until Sesshomaru turned 18, and inherited the company and me. He was an indifferent guardian, and could care less about what I did. He did enroll me in one of the finest schools in Japan, and made sure I lacked nothing that money could buy. "These are my responsibilities as the eldest of our family. My father asked it of me, which is the only reason I lower myself to take care of a useless hanyou like you." He made sure there were no doubts that he hated me, and I learned early on not to go to him for love or any sort of emotion._

_For years, the only friend was Sango. It was kind of ironic, the daughter of a youkai slayer befriending the half breed son of one of the most powerful inu youkais in the world. When her family was killed in one of the youkai wars, I returned the support. Kohaku was 18 at the time, so she was safe from being taken away and placed in a foster home. When she was thirteen, and me fourteen, Miroku showed up. For all his perverted ways, he was a loyal and wise friend, and knew how to still my often violent temper. At thirteen, Sesshomaru kindly shoved the only thing my father left for me. "A binding for your youkai blood. Never go anywhere without it." The Tetsusaiga, a sword forged of my father's fang, something to use to protect my friends and hold my sanity. _

_I also learned early on that no amount of therapy was going to make the dreams go away, and somehow they became a morbid comfort. A living memory, one that would haunt me every year for three weeks, beginning on my mother's birthday and ending on the day of my father's death. Along with the necklace and fang sword, they were the only real things that linked me to my parents._

***End Flashback***

A sigh brought me from my narration, and I looked down to see that Kagome had stopped crying, and the emotional drain was making her sleepy. Smiling, I brushed a curl of dark hair from her forehead and settled down to sleep myself. Fifth hour was over, and sixth hour was beginning.

Happy that I had comforted her, I fell into a peaceful nap, contented to just hold her. I didn't realize I didn't have any dreams or nightmares while I was holding her until that night.


	2. Dance and Dinner

"Hey, Kagome?" A sleep rough voice breathed down at me, tickling my cheeks with warm air. Squeezing eyes shut, I grunted at it and nuzzled into the warmth beside me. "Stop that." It chided at me, and I realized it was male.

Eyes wide with panic, I fought against the suddenly iron grip around me. "Kagome, it's Inuyasha. It's alright." I fought for a few seconds longer before everything caught up with me. "Kagome?" Inuyasha sounded worried, and his beautiful gold eyes studied me closely. "You Ok?" He sighed and helped me to my feet, making sure I could stand before doing so himself. Rubbing sleep from my eyes, I watched him stretch with interest. Muscles flexed beneath the red muscle shirt and the baggy black jeans that rode low on his hips. Embarrassed, I felt the sticky reminder of tears on my cheek. Washing my face, he fished around in his bag before handing me a bottle of water. "Sorry it's not cold or anything, but you must be thirsty."

"Thanks." I chugged half of it before handing it back. I looked at my watch and yelped. "It's 1:47! How long have we been in here?"

"Um, forth hour ends at noon, so an hour and 47 minutes." He ran a hand through his silver hair, watching me the whole time. "I didn't think you wanted to be alone, so I stayed." He sounded apprehensive and fidgeted nervously.

"Thanks." I meant it. I hadn't cried since that night, and though mom had hugged me and tried to talk about it, I never felt it safe to really let go. Smiling at him, he visibly relaxed, and seemed to lounge on the air. Leaning back, he watched me with hooded eyes. Even though he looked kind of cute, I couldn't quell the slight finger of fear that stabbed at me at being watched so closely. Alone, in a room, with a boy. Five months ago, it would have sent me into tremors. "Could you get in my backpack for my make up bag? It's green." He continued to watch me as I fixed my make up. Several times I wanted to shake him, to make him stop. Why was he looking at me like that? I wasn't that pretty, or maybe he thought I was some sort of freak.

No, that couldn't be it either. I remembered him talking, telling me about his mother and father. He wouldn't have told me that if he thought I was a freak. "Aren't Sango or Miroku worried? And what about the teachers?"

He laughed, and grabbed our stuff. He ignored my offered hand to take my pack and went to stand by the door. Ears cocked forward, he listened carefully before nodding for me to open the door. "I don't have classes with Sango and Miroku until last block, and I skip classes often enough that the teachers don't care as long as I have a somewhat good excuse. As long as I do the work, they could care less. Actually, I think they like it better when I'm gone." He nodded down the hallway, and I realized I was completely lost. "That way to the gym."

"How big is this school anyway?" I could see numerous hallways and a few closed off staircases. "How do you find your way around?"

"It's big. Three floors, in this part of the school anyway. A basement, though it's off-limits to students." The way he said that made me sure he had went down there a few times. "And the middle school connects on the west side," he pointed to his left. "and there's a swimming pool, track field, football field, and a bunch of other sports field on the east." He laughed at my astonishment. "Didn't you go through on your orientation?" He frowned when I shook my head no. All I got was a brochure and a phone call. And a promise that someone would show me around. That went over well. "Well, it's not hard when you get used to it. We're on the second floor now, as juniors, the seniors have the third, and freshmen and sophomores share the first. Unless you're running an errand, or your class goes to one, you've got little reason to visit the other floors. And if you remember that south is the office, and north is the parking lot, you can find most anything." We stopped at my locker. "Grab your clothes, we can get to last hour at least."

"What about my other books?" I looked down at my stomach when it let out an untimely growl.

"We'll grab them after school, and then we can go get something to eat. I'm starved." He walked a few feet, and then stopped at another locker. "26-32-09" He recited, and showed me his full arms. "Grab my stuff?"

His locker door was full of pictures, of Sango, Miroku, a girl I didn't know, and a few band cut outs. The girl was older than me, and had her arm around a scowling man who looked similar to Inuyasha. A silver mane, blue and red marks on his cheek, and searing gold eyes. He looked colder than Inuyasha though, and lacked the friendly smile. "That's Rin and my older brother." He pointed at the couple, and then moved my attention away from the pictures. "Red bag, we still have a few minutes of walking."

He lead me to a set of double doors, and stopped. "It's only 2:00. We've got ten minutes. Sit." He directed me, dropping to the floor himself. "So, how do you like your day so far?"

I giggled, and slid to the floor beside him. I didn't miss that he leaned closer and inhaled. He'd been doing that all day, and for some reason it didn't freak me out. I was kind of happy about it. "So-so. At least the students are friendly, and some of them aren't bad looking."

He blinked, and than gave me a cocky smirk. "Really? And who would these students be?"

"Let's see, Miroku isn't half bad, though I think Sango likes him." He nodded and rolled his eyes, and made an impatient gesture for me to go on. "Hmm, Kouga isn't bad looking either." He growled, a low playful growl. Giggling, I reached up and rubbed his ears. His growl turned from playful to a rolling purr. I didn't think dogs could purr, but he was fast proving that wrong. "But he's taken, poor me. The twins aren't really hot, more like baby cute." He growled at me warningly, but didn't stop purring. "And a certain hanyou. Very hot. And has the cutest ears." The bell rang, and I took back my hand morosely. He sighed, and gave me a look that told me he very much wanted me to continue.

Clearing his throat, he looked away, and stood up. Giving me a hand, he pulled me up, and didn't stop pulling until I rested against his chest. He opened his mouth to say something, and then went still with anger. Ears back, he pushed me away slightly and turned around. "Inu-kun! Dearest, you're waiting for me! How sweet." Kikyo, my cousin, threw herself around his waist. "So, did you decide to say yes? Become my prince?" She caught sight of me, and her eyes went from flirty to ice. "Kagome, cousin, why are you here?" She was trying to sound confused, and was definitely giving me a chance to deny what we had been doing.

Detangling her, he stepped away, and stood to my side. He didn't say anything, waiting for me to decide the story. "He's been showing me around Kikyo. And had the teacher let us out early so he could show me the school. He didn't say anything about waiting for you." He coughed, hiding a smirk behind his hand. "If anything, he's been waiting on me."

She glared at me, and then a sly grin plastered itself on her lips. "Cousin, can I talk with you for a second, alone?"

Inuyasha shook his head, violently against the idea. Knowing she'd just get me later, at home, I agreed. She took me by the arm and dragged me out of the hanyou's earshot. "Cousin, I think it's time I explained something to you. Inuyasha is mine. He's been mine for the past three years, and I'm not going to give him up to a little slut like you." Her words struck home, and I felt tears form in the back of my eyes. _I'm not going to cry. That's what she wants._ "And the only reason he's being so nice to you is the fact that you look somewhat like me." She smiled cruelly at my discomfort. "He never got over me, and the fact that he's hung up on you is proof of that. Word of advice, cousin, be honest with yourself. You're not worth his attention. And he's going to realize that you're not me, and then he's going to leave. It's in his nature, he's half youkai."

"And why do you like him so much? If he's half youkai, then he's surely not your type. Didn't you learn anything from Naraku? He'll use you, and then he'll hurt you." She smirked at my squeak of pain. I had never liked or trusted Naraku; that was her. She thought he had been cheating on her with me, and said I cried rape when I got found out. She blamed me for Naraku skipping town on me.

"Hey, Kikyo." Sango was suddenly beside me, an arm around my shoulders. "Why don't you and your little cretins crawl back into whatever hole you came from and leave my friends alone."

"Sango, I hardly think this has anything to do with you." Kikyo started, sending telling glares in her direction.

"Wrong bitch, she's my friend and that makes it my business. Be gone," Sango jumped at her, making Kikyo peep and scurry behind Kagura. "Stupid cheerleader." Sango's insult made me giggle, and the pain from Kikyo's words vanished. Turning me around, I noticed Inuyasha was gone, and my stuff was stacked neatly on the table. "Alright? Don't let her get to you, she's just jealous. Come on, Inuyasha and Miroku already went inside. Hey, Eliza, over here." She waved to a short brunette who had a hand to the door. "Eliza, this is Kagome. Kagome, this is Eliza Glenn, she's a foreign exchange student from America."

"Hey." Her accent was defiantly American, but her Japanese was fluent. "I was looking for you and the dog boy sixth hour, but you never showed. What, he pulled you in a closet this fast?" She winked at me to let me know I was joking. Still, a little curl of displeasure at her words snaked around my insides. Frowning, she shook her head. "Don't worry, 'Yasha isn't that big of a jerk." She continued to look, not at me, but almost around me. "Wow, your aura is really screwed up."

"What are you talking about?"

"I can read auras. I was born a psychic." She was distracted by a guy who came up behind her and hugged her tightly. "Dakota! Can't you see I'm talking!" She didn't sound mad, instead leaning back and kissing his chin. That was the only part of his face she could reach, he towered over all of us by at least six inches. He was taller than both Inuyasha and Miroku, and had dark curly hair that brushed his chin.

Chuckling, Dakota kissed her forehead and said something in English. She rolled her eyes up at him and responded in the same language. "Hey, don't be talking about people in a different language, it's not polite." Sango said. "And what do you mean her aura's screwed up?"

"I don't know, it's just" she pursed her lips, struggling for the right words. "its tangled, and bleeding everywhere." Her green eyes studied me, and she clicked her tongue on her teeth. "You haven't had a good past two years, that much is evident. Here," She pointed at something to my right, something no one but she could see. "this is shredded, and it healed over badly. Your inner aura is almost blood red, which means something traumatic happened to you, or several somethings. Black edges, which means you don't trust many people, and sickly green swirls in your heart, which is really bad. Green is your health, and as mind over matter says, the sickness in your aura is affecting your physical health." As she explained all this, her eyes darted around, catching the colors that no one else could see.

"But there is something really strange." She didn't continue, and stopped at Dakota's poke to her ribs. Snapping at him in English, she returned to her reading. "Gold, and silver, and pink. Someone else's aura is trying to _fix_ yours. Gold, the color of trust and strength. Silver, loyalty and understanding. Pink, love and fate. They surround you, and seem to be attempting to heal you."

"You're joking. I thought you told me someone messing around with someone else's soul was impossible. Like that anyway." Dakota spoke up. "They can cause serious damage to themselves and to however there messing with."

"It's not like soul control. It's like the other aura is hurting too and the only way it knows how to stop the hurt is to stop hers." She huffed, and turned away from us. "I don't write the rules, I just read." With that she grabbed Dakota's arm and dragged him into the gym. "Hurry up guys, the bells going to ring."

"That was odd." Was the only thing I could say. "You have strange friends. A psychic, a pervert, and a half youkai. Anyone else I should know about?"

"They aren't that bad. Eliza's just odd in her own right. Dakota's a werewolf, and from America too." She followed me into the gym, and lead me to the girl's locker room on the right. Already, most of the girls were done changing and I was glad for that. I didn't like people looking at my body, seeing all the scars. Most were disgusted, and everyone pitied me. Taking my bag, I went and changed into old sweats and a t-shirt. Sango was dressed similarly, black and pink sweats and a tie-dyed shirt. Eliza wore green and black, and had her long hair piled in a messy bun on her head. Pulling my own hair into a pony tail, I followed the pair out, and up the stairs.

The stands were folded up, revealing a small area where about 14 other girls were stretching. Unfortunately, Kikyo and her friends where among them. Instead of sweats, they wore skimpy shorts and cut off wife beaters. Down below, we could see the basket ball court through the folded seats. 20 guys milled around, most shoving or talking in a group. I could see Dakota, Inuyasha, and Miroku goofing around with Kouga and another boy.

"Alright girls, stop gawking at the meat and stand in line. Sango, Eliza, help the new girl. The rest, start at the top and get to work." A female couch growled, and began to bark orders and criticism. When she finally called a brake, I was footsore and dizzy.

"I'll never get this!" I cried, following the other two to set on the steps.

"Don't worry about that. It'll get easier. I can come over after school and help you out." Sango said, and pointed. "Hehe, Miroku just got his butt handed to him. Ouch, that really had to hurt." Miroku, on the 'skins' team, was laying on the floor moaning with everyone else laughing at him. His guard, a senior by the looks of it, was a mountain of flesh and had just let the poor guy pounce of his front.

Inuyasha, still laughing, helped his friend off the floor. His silver hair was pulled into a low pony tail and several strands stuck to his skin from the sweat pouring off his back. As he turned around, I got a good view of the washboard stomach and hard abs that he had stretched with earlier. His bare arms were solid too, and the muscles flexed and rippled under his smooth skin. His legs, freed from the baggy clothing and now holding up a pair of basket ball shorts, were just as ripped. All in all, he was very very very hot. There weren't enough verys to convey just how hot he was. I thought about earlier, and knew that if he had wanted to hurt me, he could have done it without a moments trouble. Instead, he had used that perfect body to pick me up and carry me to a place where I could let go.

"You are as bad as Miroku. And pick your jaw off the floor before you catch flies." My jaws snapped together with an audible click. Eliza laughed at me, watching her boyfriend, also a skin, throw the ball to Inuyasha. Inuyasha was fast, and it was a good thing that Kouga was guarding him. No one else could keep up with him, Dakota was a few steps slower and Miroku didn't stand a chance. Smirking, Inuyasha faked left and leaped straight into the air, over Kouga's head and slam dunking the ball into the hoop. The metal ring snapped under his force and Inuyasha dropped to the floor gracefully on all fours. Another testament about just how strong the dog eared boy was.

"Takashi, that's the third one this month!" His couch yelled at him, more upset about having to call practice because of the broken hoop, which was dangling by the net in two pieces, then at him. "All right, thanks to that yahoo, you get to run laps for the rest of the period. Starting now." He blew his whistle, and amid the groans and complaints, started toward his office to call the janitor.

"Thanks a lot Inuyasha!" "Jerk!" "I just healed up from the last fifty laps!" The last was from Miroku, who was still limping from the body blow, and was praying that his friend would suffer for the pain he was inflicting on the rest of the class. The only ones not complaining were Dakota, Inuyasha, and Kouga. They looked ecstatic that they had to run, and were racing each other around the gym.

"Girls! Stop staring and get up here!" The couch barked at us and we started back to the group.

"So, what do you say? Inuyasha can drop us off and I can show you how do to all this." She waved her arms at the flailing bodies and did a little shake.

"Uh." I wanted to accept her offer, but I didn't want to miss the opportunity to go eat with Inuyasha. My stomach heartily agreed with me. "Inuyasha said he was going to take me to get the rest of my books and get something to eat. Since I missed lunch, and fifth and sixth." I explained.

"What were you doing anyway? I came by at the end of fifth and you weren't there, and apparently you missed sixth too. What were you and Inuyasha up to?" She put her hands on her hips and I had the feeling she was going to drag the information out of me.

"Can I tell you about it later? I promise." I pleaded, and thankfully the couch barked at both of us to get dancing. We kept this up for another five songs and she told us we could go change. Giggling, the girls ran down the steps to shower and tease the still running boys. Dakota showed off by doing a triple back hand spring and landing in front of Eliza. Stealing a kiss, he winked at us and ran to catch up with the grinning boys. Teasing Eliza mercilessly, we went to shower and change. I was thankful they had stall showers and finished before everyone else. Grabbing my stuff, I went back to the gym.

It was empty except the two couches. Checking behind me out of old habit, I sat down with my back to the wall and took out my sketch pad. Flipping past scenery drawings and a few profiles, I stopped on my earlier ones. I couldn't decide on wither to make it a charcoal or finish it with the color pencils that Jii-chan had given me before I came here.

The resemblance was striking, even I could say that about it. I had drawn it from memory of first and second hour, picturing the smirk and smug eyes. Chin in one hand, he had his body turned to the artist. His left arm, he didn't strike me as a left handed person but he continued to surprise me, was curled around his notebook. At a glance, the person looked focused on something in front of him, out of the field of scope. But if you studied carefully at the light shaded eyes, you could see him looking out of the corners at the artist. Light, wispy shaded hair spilled from his shoulders, curling loosely on the flat surface he leaned on. The loose clothing stopped at the shoulders, and the curves of his arms were prominent.

"That's really good. How'd you get him to sit still long enough for you to draw that?" Eliza was leaning over me, analyzing the profile of Inuyasha with interest.

Snapping the pad shut, I shoved it back into the open pack beside me. Glancing around, I was comforted to find that the guys were just coming out of the locker room, across the room from me. Only Sango and Eliza stood next to me, observing my mild panic with amusement. "Chill, we won't laugh at you. I wish I could draw like that." Eliza slid down the wall to sit next to me. "Can I see the rest?"

"No, maybe later." I whispered, staring at my hands in my lap. Sango sat on my other side, and the guys finished the circle in front of me. Inuyasha sat in front of me, Dakota leaning against Eliza's waist and Miroku trying desperately to feel Sango's butt without her noticing. This didn't work out as he planned, and sprawled unconscious from her blow. "Doesn't he ever learn?"

"No." They all chorused, chortling at his misfortune. "He keeps trying convince us that it's the hand that's cursed. We aren't buying it."

"So, what where are you two going to eat?" Sango asked innocently, fixing me with a look that promised me she wasn't dropping our earlier conversation.

Inuyasha looked from her to me in confusion, turning red at the elbow to the rib from Dakota. Deciding that glaring at Sango was safer than glaring at me, he snorted. "I was thinking ramen."

"Cheapskate! Take her to that new restaurant on Boulevard." Sango offered.

"I like ramen." He protested, but gave up in defeat when he was roused by the rest. "Fine, how about a compromise? Old Ray's?" Cheers met the name, and Eliza began begging to go with us. "It's up to her, but frankly I don't want to have to deal with your whiney asses."

"They can come." Already I was learning the joy of picking on him. Glowering at me, he huffed and turned his head away. He wasn't mad though, a small smile was playing at the corners of his mouth. "Don't be such a spoil sport."

"Kagome, could you draw Dakota for me? Or do us both?" Eliza ventured, turning the attention away from Inuyasha, who was sticking his tongue out at me. "The one you did of-"

"Are you buying Inuyasha? Or do I need to fork money over for my meal." Sango cut her off, and she glared warningly to Eliza while the rest tried to figure out the rest of her sentence.

"Drawing of who?" Inuyasha asked.

"No one." Eliza blurted.

Sensing that the girls were hiding something, he decided to press the weakest link. Mainly, me. "Who?" He leaned closer, staring at me with gold hued spheres.

"No-no one." I returned the gaze for as long as I could, refusing to blink.

"Who?" He asked slower, and leaned closer.

"Too close." I mumbled, scooting backward. Even though I trusted him, for whatever reason, I was still terrified with him so close.

Remorse replaced the stubborn anger, and he whipped himself backward, stung by what he had been doing. "Sorry."

"O my God!" Eliza exclaimed, and we all stared at her. She was turning her head slowly back and forth from the two of us, understanding dawning on her face. "O, that is so cool. Sad, but cool. Romantic too." She was talking to herself, because no one else knew that the hell she was saying.

"Oi, what are you talking about wench?' Inuyasha, glad to vent his anger on someone other than me, turned to the excited girl.

"Can't tell you. It's a girl thing." She chirped happily, and stood as the bell rang. Dakota was watching her with suspicion, and gave me an apologetic smile. "Well meet you there in 30 minutes, come on Coda, I need to talk with James." She spun, raising her hands in happiness. "That is like, so freaking cool."

"Americans." Inuyasha snorted, and helped me to my feet. "Sango, wake the letch up and we'll met you out by the car."

"Be nice to the poor girl." I didn't know if she was talking about me or Eliza, but dismissed it all the same.

"Keh." Was all Inuyasha said in return, and steered me out of the room. As he told me where everything was, I thought over what Eliza had said. Why had she freaked when Inuyasha leaned in? It wasn't like we were kissing or anything. Did it have something to do with her 'reading'? Inuyasha used the same excuse of showing me around to both teachers, and apologized to them about not telling them earlier. They fluttered at him, gave him the assignments and books, and waved us off. They sent curious gazes at me the whole time, wondering why the coolest guy in school was doing showing the new girl around. I was wondering the same thing.

Did it have to do with Kikyo? Did I really remind him of her? No, I couldn't think that. He's _not_Naraku, and he wouldn't do that to me, right? "Hey, you ok?" His soft voice called me from my thoughts, and I forced a smile on to assure him I was.

"Yeah, just thinking that maybe I should have enrolled in something easier. I'm not good at math, and this is advanced math." I said, showing him the sheet that the teacher had given us as homework. "Chemistry's easy, the science stuff anyway, but it has way too much math for my tastes."

"Don't sweat it. I rule in math." He boasted, puffing his chest out. "And if you were in another class, you wouldn't be with me."

Good point. "Anyway, after we eat, I'll help you out. If, you return the favor." He shook his head at the look of panic on my face. "History! I meant help me in History!" He hurried, showing his palms face up in a motion of peace. "Sorry, that was stupid." He opened the door for me, carrying my textbooks under one arm. He refused to let me carry them. 'They don't bother me, I'm stronger than you.' Was his answer, before turning his back to me. Already, I could tell he didn't like to be found out when he was doing something nice.

Miroku was awake when we got out there, though Sango looked close to killing him. "We are sitting in back." She said, pointing at me. "Don't give me that look. You left me alone with him." She turned the finger to Inuyasha, who was scowling at her. Miroku smiled in apology and just waved his hand in explanation.

Inuyasha held the driver's seat forward so I could climb in back with Sango, glaring at Miroku over the car top the entire time. Miroku's denials were broken off when Inuyasha slammed the door on him, shoving the keys into the steering column and the car roared to life. Flipping the radio on, he fiddled with the controls until he was suited with the volume. "Stop sulking monk, get in the car."

"Monk?" Was that a joke?

"His father was a monk, and his uncle's a priest. He's father's was as big a letch as he was, and his uncle's a drunk. We are convinced the only reason their holy is so they can get out of taxes."

"Hey, that's not true! My family has been on the path for five hundred years! I was named after my ancestor, and he was a monk/letch too." Miroku wailed, asking Buddha why no one understood him.

"Really? So was I."

"We all were. Even the others. The only ones in the group not named after someone are Eliza and Dakota." Sango said. "How far back was the ancestor?"

"Five hundred years. She was a miko, but fell in love with a boy and left her village to live with him. My cousin, Kikyo, was named after the boy's first love and the former miko of the village. She died, but was revived by a youkai. Sometimes, I think Kikyo's undead too."

Everyone laughed, but it was an uneasy one. "I was named after a great Inu-hanyou, who fell in love with a miko. Two of them actually. They both held the Shikon no Tama and he kept trying to steal it from them. As it goes, the second one gave it to him as a token of love, and he used the wish to ask that his friends live as long as he did. Far as anyone can tell, they could be alive today."

That sounded really familiar…"That's an old legend, Inuyasha. I was named after the youkai slayer in that story, but it doesn't mean it happened." An old argument was revived, and soon all three were shouting at each other. It ended only because the car ride was over. Letting her out, Inuyasha stopped his yelling at Sango when I placed a hand on his arm. Huffing, he held his tongue and waved over to Dakota and Eliza.

Eliza smiled secretly at me, mouthing 'tell you later' and followed us inside. Humming, she pulled a chair out for me and hugged Inuyasha before pushing him into the seat beside me. "Alright, what did you see?" He growled, causing the approaching waitress to squeak and take off. "Oops. She must be new."

"Takashi-sama!" The manager and another waitress scurried over, only to be waved away by the owner. "Leave him and his friends be. Mariko will be your server." She smiled and bowed slightly to the group. "Have a nice meal." The owner bowed and shooed the over eager manager away.

"Drinks?" The waitress turned to Eliza, starting at the far end.

"Orange soda." Eliza's chirped, still happy.

"Dr. Pepper." Dakota's.

"Sprite." Sango's.

"Pepsi." Miroku's. "Wait, do you have virgin sex on the beachhh ow ow ow ow ow. Let go of my ear!" Sango didn't let go, motioning for the waitress to continue without answering his question.

"Root beer, with a splash of sprite, and some cherry pepsi." Kagome recited her favorite drink her mother had come up with.

"In the same glass?" Poor waitress, she was very confused by the crazy people's table.

"Yes, please."

"Ok," she finished writing and turned to Inuyasha. "you sir?"

"The same." His voice was confused, but he hid it with a cough. "That's all."

"Just a minute, they'll be right out." She tucked the notepad into her apron. "Menus?"

"Just one." Inuyasha took the proffered menu with a thank you and passed it to me.

"Just one? Don't you guys need them?" They laughed at my question. "What?"

"We've been here so many times that we've all got favorites. The fried chicken is the best." Sango nodded in consent to Dakota's words.

"No, the Philly Steak with extra mushrooms, onions, and no cheese. It's to die for." Eliza broke in, playing with her napkin. Shredding it into tiny pieces to keep her hands busy, she positively beamed at the two of us.

"Barbequed baby back ribs, ear of corn, and fried okra." Miroku groaned anticipation. Everyone nodded sagely, and I drooled at the picture he painted.

"This is all American food." I stated, and Eliza nodded.

"Yeah, I missed home food, so they found this on my last birthday. We've been coming back ever since."

"Bunch of moochers. They make me pay for it every time." Inuyasha leaned over to look at the menu in my hands. "The steak's good. 32 oz, rare, with the house seasoning."

"That's a lot of meat." I read down the list, and noticed something else. "There's no prices."

"Keh, get whatever you damn well please. I'm paying, and I doubt whatever you order is going to break the bank." He snorted at me, returning to his seat when the drinks arrived. The sweet fizzing soothed my nerves, and washed me in old memories.

"Ready to order?" The waitress waited, pencil poised.

Everyone looked at me, delaying their own meals for me to be ready. Wow, first day of school and I was sitting in an expensive restaurant surrounded by the popular kids. Friends. "Yeah."

As everyone placed orders on their favorites, I looked back over the list. Yes, that one sounded the best. "And you?" Her voice was aimed at me.

"I'll take the Samson's Hamburger. Emm, no peppers though. Extra cheese." I passed my menu over and caught everyone staring at me. "What did I do now?"

"That's a really big meal." Sango started, trying to ease me into it.

"Yeah, and I'm really hungry. I think I can handle it."

"Keh, we'll see." He caught the waitresses arm. "Two onion blossoms, jumbo mushroom basket, and one mozzarella stick. Thanks."

"Alright, plans for this weekend, anyone?" Inuyasha did not like her question, and threw a piece of ice at her. "No, then, a party at Inuyasha's!" Eliza winked at me, dodging the ice like she knew it was coming.

"Stop doing that! Sesshomaru nearly killed me for the last one. The answer is _no. _And no matter how many times you ask, it will be _**no!**_" He snarled, shaking one finger at the grinning girl. "Stop smiling!"

"You are going to give in, so can we skip the temper tantrum? And anyway, Kagome has never been to one of your parties, are you going to deny her? She'd love to go." She pleaded, hands clasped in front of her face. Puppy dog pouting, she stuck her bottom lip out. "Pwease?" She said in baby talk, just to tick the hanyou off.

"Grr. Fine, but a _small_ party. Close friends only. No more than fifty people." Fifty? They thought that was small?! "And you have to ask Sesshomaru."

"Great, he likes me anyway." She loaded a little plate full of the arrived appetizers and passed it to Dakota. Doing it again, she snagged a passing mushroom to add to the plate. "Yeah!"

"Are you always this excitable?" I accepted the plate that Inuyasha had filled for me and eyed one of the onion pieces. Biting into it carefully, my mouth smarted from the heat. I quickly forgot it, the food on my plate disappearing in record time. "That is so good!"

"And you think I'm excitable. Have a bite of this." She cut a bite off the log of bread oozing white liquid and dipped in a dish of red sauce. Passing it over, she laughed at my look of pure joy. "So, you and Sango can help plan the party. Anyone you want to invite?"

"Don't know a lot of people here. Other than Ayame and the other wolf youkais, the only people I know here are Kikyo's friends. I ask that you not invite them." Inuyasha was filling a plate for me again, fighting Dakota for the last bit of onion blossom. Winning, he returned them with a grin. Smiling my thanks, I ate this pile slower than the first.

"Trust me, the only way that bitch is getting into my house is if I'm dead." He wasn't joking. "Anyone else?"

"Nope."

"Great, then I'll expect the fur balls to be invited. You're lucky you're so well liked, that scruffy wolf is not in the top ten of my favorite people." I blushed at his words, and went back to focusing on my food. Conversation exploded around me, old jokes brought up, and embarrassing stories told. It seemed everyone had at least two or three for Inuyasha, who could only stutter and deny them. From the wicked smirks between them, they too had realized that he liked me more than a friend. And were hell bent on giving him as much grief as possible.

"FOOD!" Dakota crowed, making room for the oncoming entrees. Talking was soon forgotten as dishes of steaming food were dished in front of us. "Food food food food!"

I instantly regretted the two plates of appetizers, as along with my own food, everyone else kept giving me bites of theirs. The chicken melted in your mouth, and I stole two more ribs from Miroku's plate before he had the smarts to move it from my reach. 'Lady Kagome, leave some for the starving man before you. Unless you wish to feed me with your fingers.' That had earned him a whack, and he hastily apologized to an irate Sango. I even tried Inuyasha's steak, and the seasoning was wonderful, even if the meat itself was a little too rare for my tastes. I ended up eating only 2/3 of my hamburger, and put a good dent in the fries that went served with it before doing as everyone else did with the extra food; passing it down to either Inuyasha or Dakota.

"I'm stuffed. Maybe my eyes were too big for my stomach, but that was so good." I played with the single burnt fry on my plate and turned red from the burp that burst out of my stomach. "excuse me."

"That wasn't a burp, this is a burp." Miroku placed a hand to his chest and gave a pathetic sounding rumble. Laughing at him, the others joined in before we all lost it.

"Get your filthy asses up and leave. I paid, let's go." Inuyasha grabbed his red jacket from the back of the chair and steered us out. Shivering, I cursed myself twice for forgetting my jacket at the house. Sighing, Inuyasha shrugged out of his and wrapped it around my shoulders.

"Aren't you cold?" I chattered, and he shook his head in amusement. The wind picked up, and the temperature dropped. Growling, Inuyasha pulled me into his arms and shielded me from the cold. The movement was pure instinct, and the warmth that radiated from him was a welcome relief. Still, I couldn't help but stiffen at the contact.

He noticed immediately and released me, darting to the other side of Miroku. I felt horrible when I saw his face, drawn and guilty. More so, I missed the feel of him, and wished I hadn't reacted the way I did. If there hadn't been anyone else around, I would have felt the courage to go over and push my head under his chin, wrapping my arms around him. To tell him I loved the way he held me, it felt so natural, like I had been doing it every day of my life. But for now I contended myself with pulling his coat tighter around me and rubbing my face onto the still warm inside.

"To your house now?" Sango asked, letting me have front seat because Miroku was too lethargic to cop a feel. "We can practice the dance steps."

"Keh, she's coming to my house to help me with History. Payment for that burger she inhaled." He still refused to look at me, avoiding me like the plague.

"If you'd pay attention in that class, you wouldn't need help. It's one of the easiest classes. Not like those stupid Math classes you take. I can't believe Kagome is taking Trig with you." She smacked Miroku's wondering hand way.

"Trust me, the only reason I'm doing it is because I promised my mother." The words left my mouth before I could take them out. No one said anything, and I didn't get the 'poor you' look that I had gotten ever since the accident. Instead, Sango gripped my shoulder in apology and Inuyasha patted my leg awkwardly for a second.

"Then maybe tomorrow. Drop us off, and we'll let you study in peace." Sango kicked Miroku hard to stop the next words coming out of his mouth, and I nodded mutely. I had been hoping to be alone with him, but all of a sudden, I was now faced with it. He wouldn't hurt me, that much was evident, but it was still too different.

"Fine, I don't need Sesshomaru chasing you around the house. He did not like the last time Miroku was here. If I remember right, he ordered a couple movies that Rin found. She blamed Sesshomaru, who blamed me, who wanted very much to throttle a certain monk. Shit, he didn't let me in the main house for a month." He groused, and sent a glare in my direction. "Stay clear of my brother, he doesn't like people."

"I can see where you get it from." I said, and blushed as Miroku and Sango giggled madly from the backseat.

"Keh, I'm a teddy bear compared to him. Just" He paused for words, "don't expect a warm welcome."

"You'll be lucky if he welcomes you at all." Inuyasha pulled up to a house, and opened the door. Sango climbed out my side, as Inuyasha took Miroku aside for a moment. "He's got a lot of bark, but he would never lower himself to hurt a human without reason."

"Is he a hanyou like Inuyasha?" I looked over briefly at the two, who seemed to be engrossed in a deep conversation.

"No, and whatever you do, don't mention Inuyasha's 'discretion' in front of him. Sesshomaru's a full blooded inu-youkai, and thinks very highly on bloodlines. Their father was the same, but Inuyasha's mother was human." Sango said. "Inuyasha's parents died along time ago, so it was just him and his brother for a long time."

"Yeah, he told me."

"Really? I had to tell Miroku after three months, and he was pissed for weeks afterward. He must really like you." She smiled, and nodded. "It'll be good for someone to ground him, and you do soften his temper. Have fun, don't let him bully you." She hugged me, and turned to the approaching two. "And what the hell were you two talking about?"

"Nothing." They both denied.

"Right, I believe that." He scowled at Sango, gold eyes glinting in the sun.

"Hey Kagome, do you have an IM?" Nod. "Good, here's mine." She scribbled it on my hand, and then another on my arm. "That's Miroku's if you want it."

"Thanks. Youkaislayergrl? Houshisama?" Huh. "Mines Shrinemaiden." Miroku added it to his phone, and Sango scribbled it up his arm.

"Hey, use your own!" He rubbed absently at the place where she had grabbed him, smearing the ink.

"Great, I'll talk to you later, you and I really need to talk." I was reminded of the earlier threat and gulped. "Bye Inuyasha, don't overwork her."

"Bah, if your through with the mushy stuff, let's go." He slammed his door closed and pumped the engine. Too noisy to hear each other, we waved and I left. "I can take you to your house if you'd be more comfortable." He whispered, still refusing to look at me.

"No, I want to see yours, and no ones home anyway. Well, Kikyo might be, but I'd rather be somewhere else." The thought of Kikyo disrupted my good mood. Inuyasha caught on and snorted. "So, where do you live?"

"Not far from here. Ten minutes or so." He flipped a hand at the radio. "What do you like to listen to?" I was distracted from the question when he stomped onto the gas, sending me back into my seat. The car roared ahead, barely avoiding on coming traffic to skate under a red light.

Scrambling for my seat belt, I felt a small amount of fear and excitement stir in my chest. "Well? Are ya going to answer wench?"

"Sorry, just trying to cough up my tongue, I nearly swallowed it." Finally I put the stupid buckle into the lock. "So, by ten minutes, do you mean speeding or a more normal pace?"

"Speeding? You haven't seen speeding." He chuckled darkly, and pumped the gas. His eyes went from the road to me, teasing me with waggles of the eyebrow. "Music?"

"Anything. Uh, Cheap Trick, Five for Fighting, Good Charlotte. (A/N I don't know any music from Japan, so we are just going to stick with stuff I do know. Don't like it? Tough.) Green Day, Chemical Romance…"

"I got it wench." He huffed, stuffing a CD into the stereo. Moments later, a familiar rhythm was throbbed into my ears. Staring out the window, I blanched inwardly at the flying scenery. "Relax, I've only gotten into one wreck and that one wasn't my fault, mostly." He did slow down minutely, allowing me to catch my breath.

"Mostly?"

"Miroku's fault. He was the one leaning over to look at the woman flashing me. Knocked the wheel and the driver beside me decided to turn towards me. He was drunk, but if I had been paying attention we wouldn't have even brushed against him. Totaled my Viper, and I never heard the end of it from Fluffy." Drunk driver, that sounded familiar. "Here we are, Home Sweet Home." He chuckled dryly, turning to enter the garage that was larger then half the school. Cars that I didn't even know the model crowded for space, and motorcycles that defied imagination stood in a row. He parked like he memorized the only free space and was out and opening the door for me before I could unbuckle the belt. "Come on wench, why you so slow?"

"Not all of us have the fortune of having youkai speed." I huffed, sticking my tongue out at him. Briefly, I wondered why I felt so at ease around him. It was like I had known him for years. "If you want me to move faster, you'll have to carry me." A shit eating grin meet my words. "Uh, I was kidding."

"Sorry, I take everything literally." He huffed, sliding his arms around me, one under my knees and the other behind my back. "Up ya go." He picked me up easily, pausing to allow me to grab my stuff. Holding me to his chest, he kicked the door shut and headed for the door that I assumed connected to the house. "So, other than homework, what would you like to do?"

"You're just trying to get out of doing it." I replied, opening the door for him. He started inside, and gave a snarl. He stumbled slightly, kicking at something at foot level.

"Damn it to hell, get out of the way you fucking toad!" He growled, and a little green thing hit the wall.

"Inuyasha-sama!" It yelped, struggling to stand. "Your brother sent me to fetch you and this is how you treat his faithful servant."

"Shut it Jaken, you think I care?" I giggled, something about the little youkai just made me laugh. "What does he want anyway?"

"Don't take that tone with me." He snarled, which made him even more funny. "He wants to talk to you about the dinner party."

"Already got a date, so you tell him to take whatever little Inu bitch he's found and shove it up his-"

"Brother, how crude. I thought we talked about this." I yelped and fell from Inuyasha's arms, which caught me before I hit the ground.

"Sesshomaru-sama!" The little toad thing threw himself at the male's feet, huddling close to the ground. "Your brother is being-"

The male kicked at him, shutting him up mid sentence. "Shut up." As Inuyasha helped me to my feet, I finally got a good look at the owner of the cold voice. Like Inuyasha, he had gold eyes and waist length silver hair, but that was where the similarities ended. Two purple slashes adorned each cheek, and a half crescent moon on his forehead was the only color on his fair skin, unlike the toned dark skin of his brother. His features were elegant, and sharp, too cold. "Brother, your explanation is wanted."

"This is Kagome Higurashi, Kagome, this is my older brother Sesshomaru." Inuyasha grated from beside me. "She's here to study; she's a new student at school."

"And you so graciously agreed to show her around?" The older youkai snarled a little, judging me. "And how did the little whore agree to pay for your services?"

A cold wash and pure self disgust settled onto my nerves, making my breathing short and painful. Right before I stopped breathing altogether and passed out, I wondered why his words bothered me more than anyone else's.


	3. Sleepovers and Midnight Talks

Catching the poor girl before she hit the floor, I smelled the pain and self disgust in her scent. She's really not having a good day; this is the second time I know of that she's been unconscious. Holding her carefully, I ignored my bother's baffled snort and carried her to the living room couch. Arranging her on there as comfortably as I could, I grabbed my jacket from where it had fallen to the floor and covered her with it. Glaring silently at my brother, I jerked my head to the door and stormed out, seething.

As soon as the Taiyoukai deemed me ready to accept his presence, Sesshomaru glided out of the room, Jaken on his heels. Snarling at him, I spoke low. "You will never address her as such again, and I demand an apology for her. That was completely uncalled for, and you say that I have no manners!"

"Are you calm?" Sesshomaru's voice was cold, which just pissed me off more.

"No _brother_ I am not! You insulted and threatened my guest! I bite my tongue often enough for your guests, you can at least return the favor!"

"She has Naraku's scent on her, she is not a guest in my home!" Came the biting reply, and I noticed Jaken dart off for Sessomaru's wing. Coward.

"That's 'cause he fucking raped her! Maybe if you used that brain of yours you'd have recognized the blatant hurt and fear in her scent! She passed out earlier, and you aren't helping none!" I got into my brother's face, something I rarely did for fear of having my nose sliced off, and snarled. "Stay the fuck away from her."

Spinning, I stomped back into the room to sit at her side, brushing a few tears from her cheek. "That went well, didn't it?" I asked her still figure. As I looked down at her prone form, I felt all the anger leaving me, instead filling me up with a urge to protect. "He didn't even flinch when Sango came in the door with her Hirakosu one day, and you have him insulting you right off the bat. If anything, I'll keep you around to piss him off." I gave a dry chuckle, which stopped as she whimpered and curled into a ball underneath my coat.

She clutched at it with white fingers, whimpering and sobbing quietly in her sleep as she battled her nightmares. Tears steadily streamed down her face as she fought, eyes screwed shut against her unseen vision. "N-no, please." She sobbed, "stop." She gave an anguished yell that I'm sure all the occupants of the house heard, youkai ears or not. "Don't hurt me."

"Hey girl." I spoke softly, kneeling down to cradle her face between my hands. "No one's going to hurt you while I'm around." I whimpered to her in Inu out of pure instinct. 'Calm, mate be calm. Mate safe.' I continued to talk to her in both human and Inu, sighing as her body relaxed and her breathing eased. "Sleep Kagome, you're safe." I murmured, feeling this undeniable urge to cradle her and comfort her. Like she was my mate.

Giving in, I picked her up, working her into a bridal carry without loosing my jacket.

"Am I going to get that back?" I teased when she brought it to her face. Carrying her carefully to my bedroom, I placed her on the bed, easing the covers around her and stepping back. "Guess there isn't going to be much studying done anyhow." As I turned to leave, because I didn't want her or my bastard brother getting the wrong idea, she started up again.

I had thought that my scent would be enough to calm her, but I was wrong. Moving as softly as possible, I shut the door and the lights off before slipping into the bed beside her. She literally glued herself to my side, huddling closer than before, clenching my shirt in her fists like I was going to leave. Putting both arms around her, I snuggled against her, feeling something _right_ fall into place.

We lay for about four hours before she woke again, and in that time I didn't close my eyes once. I just lay beside her and studied her, raking my claws through her hair leisurely and up and down her back. Her scent was so thoroughly soaked into my sheets and pillows I never wanted to wash them again. She can keep the jacket too, next time I wore it it'll smell like her.

As her breathing increased, and her body began to wriggle in the pre wakeful stretching, I steeled myself for her earlier reaction. She had been afraid, and rightly so. Fuck, I shouldn't have stayed. I was contemplating how to detangle our legs when her eyes opened.

At first, only the fog of sleep remained, which quickly burned away to fear, which I flinched away from. Then, relief and calm washed into her scent, and she pulled herself closer. "Kagome? You ok?" I asked, unsure of how to react. Hug her closer or just stay still?

Luckily, I didn't have to decide because she pulled away of her own accord. Turning slightly red, she looked away, up at the ceiling. "Thank you for staying." She mumbled, and I gave her a nod and smile in return.

"No biggie. Come on wench, I'm hungry." She gave a weak laugh and sat up. She put a hand to her head as the blood rushed to it, and I say the dizzy look before it faded. She took a careful step forward before she staggered into my arms.

"This is kind of embarrassing. You have to keep catching me." She giggled weakly, staring up at me with big brown eyes.

"It's alright. Got nothing better to do." Moving around, I offered my back. "Up ya go girl, I'm not caring you around in my arms. And you can't walk very well it seems." Hesitantly, she grasped my shoulders. Hosting her up, I grasped her thighs to hold her in place. "I had Rin call your aunt, she knows your staying here for the night." I started for the stairs, taking them all at once to land at the second floor landing. She gave a little gasp, and held me tighter, but no fear tainted her scent. Only excitement and trust. "You can either stay in my quarters, or a room can be made up for you."

"But where will you sleep?" She clutched me a little closer, and something akin to embarrassment entered her scent.

"On the couch, in the room or in the living room. Doesn't matter." I jumped down to the first floor, shushing her so I could listen. Sesshomaru was still in his study with Rin and the toad, and there was no one else in the house. "Really Kagome, it doesn't matter to me."

"But it's your room." She slid of my back to stumble to my side.

"And it's my house." Kagome gave a yelp and dove into my arms, hiding and digging away from Sesshomaru. Turning to him slowly, I gathered Kagome closer. Snarling warningly, I took a few steps back, trying to figure out a way to get her to safety before I ripped him to shreds.

"Calm your snarling brother, I mean no harm." Sesshomaru stepped out of the hallway and closer to us. He stopped as Kagome's fear scent spiked, sending the girl a confused glance.

"I'm warning you Sesshomaru, one more step and you won't like what happens." I growled, trying to detangle Kagome from my shirt and push her behind me.

"Again brother, I mean no harm. To you or your friend."

"What exactly do you want Sesshomaru?" I couldn't get Kagome to let go, and I didn't blame her. Facing Sesshomaru on a good day was scary, and Kagome hadn't been having a very good day.

"To apologize." He said, losing some of his coldness. He was watching Kagome with a look of confirmed suspicion. "What I said earlier wasn't justified. Nor honorable." He stepped closer, stopping not five feet away. "Kagome Higurashi, you have my sincerest apologizes for my hasty words, along with any discomfort I have caused. Now that I am aware fully of the situation, it will not happen again. You and your family," this came out a little stressed, and I knew who he was thinking about, "are welcome in my home, and have my protection." He bowed, something I never saw him do to anyone less than a youkai, turned on his heel, and left.

"What the fuck just happened?" I muttered, helping Kagome into the kitchen. "That youkai bastard never apologizes for anything. That'd be admitting he was wrong." I looked down at the trembling girl. "He's gone, you're safe." I whispered, picking her up to place her on the counter. Clumsily, I started to wipe away her tears, careful of my claws that rasped against her skin. "I guess your staying in my room after all."

"Did he mean Kikyo?" She stammered, catching my hand to hold it against her cheek.

"Your family thing? No, I don't think even he could fake that much indifference." I smiled at her, stroking her cheek with my thumb. She finally wound down after about fifteen minutes, and didn't release me for a second. Not that I was complaining or anything.

"Alright, do you like ramen?" I said, handing her a damp cloth. "We've got any kind imaginable and you're more than welcome to it. If not, I think I can make you something else up." I was lying, I couldn't cook worth crap.

"Beef Ramen?" She chirped, smiling up at me.

"Beef Ramen it is." I opened my personal cupboard, stocked up with stacks upon stacks of instant ramen cups, and grabbed two beef. Popping them into the microwave, we had ramen in seconds. "Here ya go." I grabbed a pair of chopsticks and jumped up beside her.

Eating in silence, I showed restraint in my normal gulping, eating at her pace. Frankly, I was still trying to figure out what had prompted Sesshomaru's change of heart. "Must have been Rin." I muttered, poking absently at the rest of the noodles.

"Whose Rin? You mentioned her before." Kagome had finished and was looking around the kitchen.

"She's my brother's mate. What do you want?" I was getting fidgety. I didn't play the part of good host very often, and I didn't want to scare her any worse than she already was.

"Um…a drink would be nice. Where do you keep your cups?" She made to jump down, but I was faster.

"Stay up there wench, I'll get it." I stalked to the refrigerator to grab two cans of coke. "I'm sorry for my brother, I didn't think he'd be that big of an ass." I popped her can for her and handed it to her. She smiled at me, in a way that sent little shivers down my spine.

"I've heard worse." She said, taking a careful sip and looking down at the floor. "How-why-"

"He could smell it on you." I whispered back, finishing off my own drink in seconds. "It's faint, but still there. Kikyo smells like Naraku even more." I threw my empty can into the trash can and stepped in front of her so we could see eye to eye. "I didn't smell it on you at first, mostly because of your natural scent." I blushed, but continued. "Your natural scent overwhelms a lot of things." Mostly just me. "Don't worry, it'll be ok. It'll go away eventually."

"Can-em-I mean, I want to change, but-" She flushed, and looked down at her rumbled clothing.

"You're about Rin's size, and if she doesn't have anything-which I doubt is the case, her closet's the size of my room- you can borrow some of my old clothes. For tonight of course." I hastened to explain, forcing the thought of her in my shirt, which would be too long for her and would maybe hit mid thigh, from my brain. The old red one would look really sexy…

"Oh, thanks. Hey Inuyasha," I turned around to let her climb onto my back. "thanks for taking care of me. I don't mean to be a pain or anything."

"You're not a pain. Just don't get used to the whole nice thing, I don't do it often." I grasped her thighs softly, keeping her in place. "So, back to bed or would you like to do something else?"

"It's-" pause, "11:30. what can we possibly do at this late at night?"

"I didn't say leave the house." I huffed back, going to stand out on the second story balcony. Her reaction from my jump made my pride swell, along with other things. "Or we could go for a run."

"I'm not very athletic, I wouldn't be able to keep up." She rested her chin on my shoulder. The innocent action made me shiver, and yet again I had to pull my mind out of the gutter.

"I didn't mean you run. I run and you just ride." I pulled her a little closer. "I won't drop you, and I won't go too fast, promise."

"Alright." She shivered and clung a little closer. "Can we get a coat or something first? It looks like it's snowing." It was, I could smell it on the air. Heading back to my room, I let her down long enough to grab my coat and then we went out my third story window. She gave a short screech as we fell, but I shortened it by jumping instead to the oak beside my window.

"Easy!" I said, shaking my head to clear the ringing. "Not so loud!" I grumbled, jostling her a bit to catch her attention.

"Sorry, but you scared me!" She snapped back. "A little warning would be nice."

"Alright, next time I'll warn you." I didn't like to scare the poor girl, who was shaking slightly. "Promise."

"Are we in a tree? It's not safe up here!" She clung closer to me, shaking slightly more.

"I said I wouldn't drop you."

"Still too high." She mumbled, pushing her face between my shoulder blades.

I caught on immediately, and gave a small smirk. She was afraid of heights. I'll have to remember that. "Warning." I said, dropping to the ground gracefully and holding her tighter to me.

"Jerk!" She gasped, wrapping her arms around my neck and squeezing. If I hadn't been hanyou I wouldn't be able to breath.

"What? I gave you a warning. Now, where would you like to go Kagome?" I was giddy, reminded of the first time that my own father had taken me for a run on his back. That of course, had been years ago and I had been quite a bit smaller than Kagome was now.

"I don't know!" She squirmed, intent on either getting a better position or torturing me to death, I was sure it was one of the two.

"Hmm, I think I'll take you to the beach house. It's not so far away. You'll like the ocean." I spun on my heels, jumping over the gates and dodging scampering guards. Sesshomaru'll yell at me later for that.

Snow and trees turned to one solid grey blur as I leapt and ran, pushing myself to my top limit. No fear remained in her scent, just surprise and excitement. Whooping, I took up into the trees, using them to take me faster and higher. She clung to me, squeezing with her arms and legs as she squealed and laughed in my ears.

Before going to the beach, I decided to take her up to my secret spot, where I went when everything else decided to kick my ass royally. Miroku and Sango didn't even know about it. As I ran, I concentrated on feeling the heat of her body pressed against my back, the feel of her legs and arms tightening and releasing as we fell through the air. I could hear her heartbeat over the sound of my footsteps, and it reminded me of a bird's, fast and soft all at once.

Stopping a few feet away from the ridge, I let her slide down, a small spike of confusion in her scent. "I won't let you fall, I promise." I took her arm, made sure the coat was still firmly wrapped around her, and lead her to the edge. "Alright, look out."

You could see the whole town from here. A fierce, dark skyline dotted with yellow and orange lights cut into the sky. The coast, the waves crashing rough and gray against the shore, stretched out at out feet. Standing at the edge, I could hear the rush of the highways and dull roar of the city. Behind us was an untouched wilderness that my family had owned for generations. Even the docks looked romantic from up here, without the slightest smell of fish to overwhelm me with.

"Do you like it?" I was nervous about showing any one this. But Kagome seemed so much different from just 'anyone.'

"It's so beautiful, I should bring my sketch book up here. Look at the lights! And the ocean! Inuyasha it's wonderful!" She laughed, the first time I had ever heard such a free sound, the notes all falling through the air. "How did you find this place?"

"My dad used to give me rides like that. He brought me up here, before he died. Told me that whatever happened, I'd never feel alone. I didn't understand back then, but every time I come up here, I can still feel him, holding me on his shoulders as we pointed at what we saw. During the summer bats live down in the caves. He brought me out when I was five, and we watched this huge swarm of small black specks cover the sky! When it gets warmer, I can show you." My voice dropped an octave. "I've never shown anyone before."

A moment of silence, and for a frightening second, I thought she was going to laugh at me. Idiot! You sounded like such a freakin' pansy! That's it; you are never going to say anything to her ever again!

Then, she was hugging me, again. I held my arms out from my side, looking down at the top of her head, uncertain of how to respond. As I was getting my courage up to hug her back, she whispered into my shirt "Thank you."

I was baffled. Sure, it meant the world to me, my hiding place, but why was she so emotional about it? It wasn't like I gave her a ring or some dumb shit like that. "What do ya mean wench?" Nervousness and confusion made my voice sharper than I had meant it to be, but I reassured her by wrapping my arms around her shoulders. There was no way I was letting the chance to hold her get away.

"It's just, no one's ever wanted to share something like that with me. I've never had anyone close. When my mom…" Her voice broke, and I suddenly wondered about that. She had mentioned something earlier, about living with her cousin and aunt, but why? That hadn't really crossed my mind.

"It's alright 'Gome, you don't have to say anything." Even though I was dying to know, I had hated it myself when strangers had poked their noses into still gaping wounds. What had hurt her so much? First the Naraku thing, who I was going to rip to shreds the moment I laid eyes on him, and then her family.

"No, I want to." A deep sigh and she burrowed closer, for comfort and warmth. "My mom was in a car accident. It just happened. I was talking to her on the cell phone and then I heard her scream and this big crunch, like when you smash a pop can with your heel you know? The phone must have fallen to the floor boards, because I could hear smaller crashes and breaking glass too. I couldn't stop yelling into the phone. My brother was in the car too. They were driving back from a soccer game. I didn't go. They wanted me to, but I got out of it by telling her I had homework. I lied, I went to the mall to see one of my friends. Now I can't see either of them."

"Kamis."

"After a few minutes, I finally found another phone and called the police. It took me an hour -a goddamn hour!- to finally get a hold of someone who knew anything. By then my friends had ditched me and I had to call Jii-chan to come and pick me up." A strong scent of tears hit the air, and I shuddered as the hot liquid burned into my skin. Why was she so trusting? Why did she feel the need to tell _me?_ Not that I didn't like it, as much as you could when a small fragile girl broke down in your arms, but why? What was so special about me?

"When we made it to the hospital, I nearly died again. Souta's left leg had been crushed, and they had to amputate it so he would live. I'd never get to see him play soccer again…" She started to cry again, and for more then ten minutes she couldn't speak a coherent word. Finally, her sobs sputtered down to hiccups. "An-d m-my mom. Sh-she never woke up!"

How could the Kamis hurt someone so pure? What had she ever done to deserve this pain? I wanted to _kill_ someone! "Kagome…" I pressed my lips to her hair, knowing nothing I could say would make this better, make the pain go away.

"Jii-chan couldn't take care of both me and Souta, and the hospital bills, so I volunteered to come back here. Aunt Kaede had always been nice to me, even if Kikyo…" There was no need to finish that sentence. Kikyo was Kikyo, there was no other way to describe it. "I still visit Mama on the weekends, and talk to her, even if she can't talk back. The doctors say she might not ever wake up, but Jii-chan doesn't care. He says it's up to the Kamis if she lives or dies, and they let her live. If you can call a coma living."

Wait a second, I thought she was dead! But she was right, there wasn't much of a difference. Coma or dead, neither could hold you when you cried or make you soup when you were sick. No more lullabies at night, or someone to chase away the darkness. "I know Kagome, I know. I miss my mother too." A single question was still bothering me, dancing in the back of my head. Where was her father?

I refused to ask it though, so we stood, a single black dot on the cliff, looking down at the big bad world. One I vowed to protect her from until I drew my last breath.

Finally, the cold got too much for Kagome to stand and she asked to go back. I nodded, feeling nothing but warmth. "Hey Kagome?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you." She didn't need to be told what for, as she nodded off against my shoulder. Holding her bridal style to protect her from the cold, I tucked her head more firmly beneath my chin.

Kagome was drifting towards sleep as I stepped through the front door, not wanting to bother her as she did look really beautiful and happy as she slept, a smile just touching the corners of her lips.

Hell, when did I get so soft?

Sesshomaru was standing next to my door with Rin, who held clothes for the girl resting against my chest. His usually stoic gold eyes softened minutely as they took me in, and it took me a few moments to register how I appeared.

Before we could start into one another, Rin stepped between us. "Hush, she's sleeping. Here Inuyasha," She placed the clothes on Kagome's stomach. "I tried to find her some things she would like. But if not, send her to our room."

Sesshomaru rolled his eyes, but kept his comments to himself. "Goodnight you two." I said, keeping my voice to a low rumble. "Sess, thanks, for understanding."

"It surprises me that you were right, but I guess even your entitled your one moment. She is your date for the dinner?" I nodded, and he sighed. "It's a formal, so please dress nicely. Your other two friends are coming also?"

"Yeah, If you don't mind, I'm going to bed." I paced around them, nodding to Rin as I passed. Wow, maybe I should yell at him more often.

Swinging the door shut with my foot, I carefully dropped her onto the bed and looked down at her. "Hey. Kagome!" I hissed, poking her in the side. "Wake up! You wanted to change, so get your ass up!" Oh, that might not be a very nice way to wake her, and as her eyes opened into narrow slits, I had a flash of me laying somewhere dark and bleeding.

"Didn't mean nothing by it." I muttered, looking away. Stupid mouth.

She continued to stare at me, and then stared some more. Getting uncomfortable, I growled at her, "What?"

"Clothes? That is what you woke me up for right?" She was amused at my embarrassment! "Is there somewhere I can change?"

"Bathroom's that way." I pointed, falling to the side to lay on my back. Listening to her move around, I waited until she closed the door to change myself, setting the alarm so we could wake up for school tomorrow, not that I wanted to go but she might. Again, I was going fucking soft.

There was something about her, a kind of déjà vu. But I could swear that I'd never seen her before. Nor have I heard about her. Still, she pushed me to protect her with my life, like I could do battle with youkai just to see her safe and smiling.

"Hey, Inuyasha?

I sat up, ashamed that she had snuck up so easily. The pajamas that Rin had loaned her were silk, and she seemed slightly uncomfortable wearing the high end green fabric. A button up shirt with short sleeves, and short little girl boxers, I had to roll over onto my stomach to hide my growing embarrassment.

Of course, I could tell she was admiring my choice in sleeping material, one pair of devil red boxers and no shirt. I had seen her checking me out in the basket ball game and I wanted to see if I got the same reaction twice. "Yeah Kagome?" I was beaming on the inside when she turned another shade of pink and her eyes darted back up to mine. I really really wanted to say 'You can touch my abs if ya want, they are real.' However, I didn't think that would go over all that well.

"Where are you sleeping again?" Again more pink. Really, does she pass out if she gets too embarrassed?

"Right, I was just leaving." Having managed to get the traitorous part of my body under control, I bounded off the bed and towards the door. "I'll be down the hall if you need anything; it's the door by the stairs."

"Oh." Was that disappointment I heard? Did she want me to stay in here? Don't push your luck Inu, getting slapped at two in the morning isn't on the top ten list of things I want to happen.

"Good night." With nothing better to say, I grabbed the door knob.

"Will you sleep beside me?" Her blurted question caused me to jump and stare back at her. She wouldn't look me in the eye as she asked, turning a bright vibrant pink. "I don't want to be alone. And you," All at once, she looked up, and whatever was in those chocolate pools burned a hole straight through to my soul. "You keep the nightmares away."

Nodding, I let her pull me towards the bed. I didn't have the courage or the words to tell her, but she did too.


	4. Fears and Recollection

"I need to pick up Miroku and Sango before we head to school." Inuyasha slapped down his napkin onto his clean plate and gave a yawn and shake of his head. "Rin's clothes fit ok?"

"Yeah, is she still here? I'd like to thank her." I looked down at my own plate. I couldn't finish all the food that Inuyasha had insisted putting on my plate, but all of it was delicious. I wish I had the money to hire cooks to make all this nice food.

"Nah, she and my brother head into work early, around five normally." Inuyasha darted his eyes from my plate and back to my eyes. Giving him a nod, I watched in fascination as the hanyou plowed into the food like he hadn't just finished his own.

"Where do they work?" Inuyasha knew so much about me already, turnabout was fair play.

"Rin's a doctor at the hospital and do you know the Takashi Towers?" I nodded, and he gave a grunt. "Brother owns the company. Dad founded it. Takashi Towers is just the official headquarters. Takashi Technologies now owns a bunch of smaller companies, and Sess is fixated on expanding his empire. Expects me to learn a little of the trade. Waste of time."

"How can it be a waste of time if it pays for your house? The cars? Your food?" I couldn't grasp the concept. If I had this much money, I could help my family, my mother. I wouldn't have to live with my cousin or only see my brother and grandfather once a month. If I had this much money, my life would be so much better.

"So? I'd give it back to see my parents again. To have a real big brother. Money ain't everything Kagome." He shoved the plate away from him and finished off his juice. Swiping the back of one hand across his mouth, he motioned with the other to follow him. "And it took me awhile to realize people are more interested in my wallet size then in me." His gold eyes turned to me, and studied me hard. "I really hope you aren't one of

'em."

The insinuation that I was just after his friendship for his money hurt, but from the look in his eyes it didn't surprise me. He was used to so many people trying to garner favors from him that he didn't know an honest face when he came across it. Could Inuyasha learn to trust anybody?

Ignoring the barb, I grabbed my stuff off the kitchen table and waited patiently in the garage as Inuyasha went to a key shelf beside the door. I missed it yesterday, and I can't figure out how. A couple hundred keys easy crowded on the shelf, each labeled and hanging from individual hooks. He took one by habit and headed away from the car I had rode in before. This one was a canary yellow, but I couldn't name the type. Some fast sport car, and expensive.

This one was a four-door, but didn't have a trunk.

"It'll be a little crowded, but if you stick your stuff down at your feet, you'll fit." Inuyasha slammed his door as he appeared next to me. "About last night…" Jerking the key into the steering column, he went through motions of adjusting the mirrors and heater vents. "I—it…"

"You don't have to say anything Inuyasha."

Silver dog ears flickered to me, and his hesitant gold eyes came up to meet mine. "Kagome, I'll make sure you're never alone again. I'll protect you." The words were rushed; he was making an effort to get the words out.

His eyes had lost their hesitance, and now shown out with an inner fire. "I swear." He pressed, raising a clawed hand to brush a strand of hair from my cheek. "I'll make sure your safe Kagome."

I think I stopped breathing when he touched my skin. I had never had someone this close to me, not by choice. Never had someone look at me like that since my father passed away. The look he gave me made everything fall away. I leaned towards him, lightheaded from the loss of air. The heat from the vents became cold as I burned under his gaze, and I wondered if this was smart.

I believed him, down in the depths of my soul. Back where the light didn't reach and the evil of Naraku hadn't touch, my soul recognized him. It sounded weird, that my heart knew him even when my head screamed at me to run from him. But, he would die for me. Kill to keep me safe.

Inuyasha kept his eyes trained on my nose. In limbo between my eyes and my lips, he couldn't seem to make up his mind whither to kiss me or not.

...

"I'm sorry."

"I told you already, its fine!" Inuyasha growled, holding an ice pack to his eye. "I've had worse from Sess."

"I'm still sorry." I said, moving his hand away to look at his bloodshot eye.

"Keh, I just can't believe you hit that hard." He smirked at me, looking devilish with the black eye that was fast fading due to his healing.

Miroku sat at the end of the table, as far away from Inuyasha as he could get. With Inuyasha, Sango and I on one side, and Eliza, Dakota, and Miroku on the other, Miroku was out of reach for the moody hanyou.

Our near kiss, which I think would have melted into my first real kiss, had been interrupted by Sir Mix Alot's 'Big Butts' ring tone at head-splitting volume. Startled, I lashed out and punched him in the eye, causing him to yowl and curse. The phone had not survived as he annihilated the threat.

Miroku had faired better than the phone, able to dodge the fists that moved in his direction. He had pleaded his innocents and for Inuyasha's mercy after he had first interrupted us, and then the comment on the black eye I had given him.

Sango had found him huddled in the black seat, nursing his own bruises and lumps. Inuyasha gave her a glare from his swollen eye and she said not a word about the black eye or the massacred monk.

Eliza was talking to Dakota in English, something I could only pick words out from the flow of sentences. Apparently, she had talked with James about something or other, and was upset about it. "Kagome, do you have a nice dress for the dinner party or can you go shopping with me?" Sango asked, keeping an eye on Miroku, who was grinning into his lunch. Apparently the thrashing he had received from Inuyasha fell in part with the daily abuse he was gifted with, and he was working on earning the rest. After the second grope, I figured out it wasn't personnel, but that didn't stop Inuyasha from coming to my rescue.

Dress. Did I have a dress? "No, but I haven't got much to spend." I said, turning a light shade of pink in embarrassment.

"Nonsense wench. Haven't you figured out that I buy the stuff around here?" Inuyasha lifted the icepack up to his eye, giving Sango a card from his wallet. "Especially when I drag the lot of you around for parties I don't even want to go to."

"Will it really be that bad?"

"Hell yeah! My stuck up older brother is throwing a little hurrah for some client or something; celebrating the fact that the prick spent a million on pencils or what not for schools. Boring as hell. Bad music, little tiny portions of rabbit food, no ramen in sight, and boorish brats that seem to be obsessed with my bank account and the fact that I am still single." Inuyasha ranted, waving the ice pack around and splashing water onto the arguing couple across from him.

Sango and Eliza, startled from her own rant, giggled madly. "You should have been here for the last one! I think he got drunk to make his brother kick him out!" Sango exclaimed. "The poor guy danced with at least five girls in one song. Forget the food and ramen; the girls wouldn't let him be long enough to hide out in the bathroom."

"I guess with you there it might discourage a few of the suitors." Eliza put in, and then put her hand up to her mouth to stage whisper to me, making eyes at the fuming hanyou. "And I warn you, watch out for Jakotsu."

"Oi!" The hanyou slammed his hands down on the table, shattering the bag. It erupted, landing onto to his lap. "What the fuck!" He yelped, pushing himself away from the table to stand up. However, the bench did not move from the table it was attached to, and he ended up on his back.

Amid the laughter, Miroku chanced the opportunity to lean over to look at the overly humiliated heap, grinning madly. "Having a bad day Inuyasha?"

"Shut it monk, or I'll find a trash can to stick you in." Inuyasha snarled, accepting mine and Sango's help in sitting back up. His lower lip stuck out in a pout, and his ears were sulking into his mane.

Before the boys could throw more insults or threats, the bell screamed into the air. "Chemistry's next isn't it?" I asked the downed Inuyasha. "Care to show me where that is?"

"Chemistry, shit." He scrambled up, knocking water off his crotch. "Iz! Wait a second."

Eliza pulled a ring from her pocket, offering it to him. "I remembered. I knew you'd want it back soon. Aren't you doing some type of dissection today?"

"Yeah, she had some extra eyeballs from A&P and decided that it'd be a nice lab for us to do." He placed the ring onto his middle finger, adjusting it to the bottom of his knuckle. "Thanks."

"See ya around!" She chirped, running to catch up with her boyfriend, who was standing at the east double doors, talking with Kouga and Ayame.

Inuyasha grabbed his bag, waiting for me to do the same. After that, he wrapped an arm around my shoulders, making my blush darken even more, and steered me towards the doors opposite the one Eliza had left through.

"What's the ring for?" It was a heavy, thick ring, with almost no decorations but the few symbols twisting across the surface. Dull silver in color, it seemed out of place on Inuyasha's hand.

"Dampening spell. Formaldehyde gives me a head ache, so Eliza fixed me up a ring to give my nose a break." He shoved his way through the hallways, packed to the brim with teenage bodies and backpacks. "I use it for a bunch of classes actually, but I needed it renewed."

"I guess super enhanced senses can be more trouble then their worth." I replied, moving closer to Inuyasha to keep from being separated.

The classroom he guided me into gleamed silver and black, the desks arranged in double rows of two across four. The teacher's desk was towards the front, heaped over with papers and books, the spare odds and ends sitting on top. A few students were already pulling out aprons and latex gloves, goofing around with the bag of eyeballs on the counter.

A few other silver and gold rings adorned the youkai of the class, each holding back the sensitive noses. Even I could smell the thick stench of chemicals and wished for my own dampening spell. "Where's the teacher?" Sure enough, no older person lounged at the desk or scampered around the students to keep order.

"Keh, she doesn't show up for most of the class period. It's more of a work on your own class." He pushed me into a chair next to his, snarling at a rabbit youkai when she tried to slid into it before me. "Sit here, I'll get our stuff."

He walked off without waiting for a response, leaving me working my mouth in anger. I was _not_ some sissy girl that needed a man to do the work. In fact, I had taken Anatomy and Physiology in advanced placement back home, and had already cut up my fair share of body parts. I liked doing it actually, much to the disgust of my younger brother. I was working towards my medical school, and this school didn't offer many science classes that I already hadn't taken.

Being second semester, I couldn't take any of the vo-tech classes for nursing or medical education. He had better not expect me to just sit back and let him do all the work.

He came back, hands full of scalpels, a tray containing an eyeball, and two sets of goggles. I had already pulled the aprons and gloves out, one set of human and the heavy duty feel of youkai strength latex. I contained my temper, making sure that I didn't explode over nothing. It wouldn't be very nice if I yelled at Inuyasha if he was just being a gentleman.

"Feh, stinks like road kill." He dropped the tray to the table, arranging the tools to the side of the tray. He then turned and grabbed two packets from the table behind him. "Ok, dissection of cow's eyeball. First step…wash eyeball with cool water—done—and-"

"It's bigger then the one's I've done before, but it's no different. How about I handle the cutting and you write the answers? You're handwriting is better than mine." I pulled one of the packets from him, ignoring him completely to flip to step fifteen, where the dissection actually started.

Picking up the scalpel, I tried not to gawk at the hair splitting blade. The ones at my old school couldn't cut paper. "Ok, first incision, right behind the cornea." I smiled serenely at him as I lifted the eye to hold it still while I cut. "Observations are part of the questions right?"

Inuyasha seemed a little shaken by my head plunge into the dissection, but only nodded as he began jotting down as I described what I was doing.

"You do this often?"

"Yeah, I'm going to load down my transcripts with classes that'll help with me getting a scholarship for medical school." I managed to cut all the way around the eye to pull the cornea, lens and outer tunic away to revel the posterior chamber. Dumping the vitreous humor onto the tray, I began cutting away the retina and walls to get the optic nerve.

"That is disgusting." Inuyasha pointed at the tray. He crinkled his nose, and gave a snort. "I applaud you Kagome."

Giggling, I slowly took the eye apart, naming each part and lining them up to give a semblance of order. Holding the lens up, I sighed when I saw how cloudy it was. "The ones we used in my last medical class were so clear we could see each other through. What gives?"

After watching my dog-eared friend turn an interesting shade of green, I finished up the lab. The bell rang once again after they had finished cleaning up, Inuyasha down right refusing to get to close the 'stinking piece of flesh'. The teacher, an old eccentric woman who seemed a little pissed at everything, had only warned her not to miss any more classes for 'whatever' reason that might come up. At this point she glared angrily at the hanyou, who glared right back, and walked off, nearly knocking a stack of papers from a table.

Without a word, he grabbed my arm and stalked from the room, sending murderous looks to the people in front of us, causing them to scatter like leaves to the wind. No one wanted to mess with a youkai in a bad day.

I didn't understand his mood swing. One second he had been laughing and goofing off with me, but the next he had shut down and was now literally dragging towards my next class. Had I said something? No, that wasn't it. The teacher hadn't said anything directly to him, but had been pretty nasty to him none the less. Had that sparked his temper?

He ignored me through Calculus, working on notes and homework as I struggled through my own. We hadn't got around to doing anything other than talk and sleep last night, and even though Mrs. Newberry, the math teacher, had allowed her until the end of next week to catch up, I would have liked to get something done. Taking a chance, I poked him in the arm, having to reach forward to do so as he was sitting in front of me.

"Inuyasha, I need some help on this problem."

His back stiffened, and his left ear quivered with tension, but he refused to look back at me. Wordlessly he held his hand over his shoulder for my paper, but after taking it and scribbling down a few notes and suggestions, he passed it back. Unsure of what the hell was dog-boy's problem, I resisted the urge to crumple the paper into a ball and bounce it off the quivering piece of silver-furred flesh.

Instead, I crossed my arms over the desk and hunkered down. The large hoodie that I had borrowed from Inuyasha this morning dwarfed me, but it provided warmth and adequate softness for a much needed nap. Even with last night, one of the best night's of sleep I've had in a few years, I still could sleep a moment or two. And the prospect of spending the night shopping with Sango wore me out.

I didn't like to take charity, or use someone else to buy things I wouldn't normally use my own money on, but I wouldn't have any dress to wear if I didn't. But after the talk over breakfast, I felt cornered. If I didn't, I would be too embarrassed to show my face at the party, abandoning Inuyasha and my new found friends. If I did, would not I prove myself that I was just after his money?

Sighing, I stared at the back of his head. Having rich friends were fast proving themselves more troublesome then meets the eye. But somehow, I wouldn't trade them for the world.

Kikyo had only been in two of my classes, for which I was immensely grateful. After this morning, she would have smelled the confusion and happiness on me and gone after me, no holds barred. For whatever reason, Kikyo did not like me being happy. This proceeded Naraku and my mother's accident.

Naraku. Because of him I couldn't even go one day without thinking of the bastard and what he did to me. Night terrors that reenacted every vile day, rumors that made me a whore and a slew of mental and physical scars that would last until my dying day.

Kikyo only compounded on that. How she could crucify her own cousin, even after she had seen the damage that Naraku had inflicted? To her, I was always the ugly duck, the little nerd that had so desperately wanted to fit in like her older cousin. Her friends, having followed her out of the sandpits of preschool to the halls of high school glamour, had done their best to please her. Their meal ticket ended up being me.

Middle school had been a nightmare, until Kikyo and her mother had moved from my old district to here. The teachers wondered why my grades weren't as good, why I didn't have as many friends or why I didn't dress like Kikyo. Where she went to math and athletics, I went to science and history. The teachers' thought I had a morbid fascination after I had latched onto the human anatomy during the last year of middle school. No one could understand why the little 'copy' just didn't measure up with the original.

"Kagome, we need to go." Inuyasha said, piling his books into a neat stack. His features had relaxed a bit more, but he still refused to look at me. Other students in the classroom hurried out to the hallway, anxious to get the last class over with. In my thoughts I hadn't heard the shrill bell call for change.

…

The mall was crowded, bursting to the seams with holiday shoppers and teenage posses huddled around benches. Sango lead me from store to store, sure of what she was looking for and where exactly she would find it. Prices weren't an issue, as both Sango and Inuyasha had assured me.

Or he would have, if he was talking to me.

"Why isn't he talking to me?" I muttered to myself, looking at a rainbow of dresses. Sango said she would give me an area for the type of dress I hunted for, but so far she had spent the majority of her time on the phone with Miroku, trying to reason with him about some project or another for history.

Another thing I needed to catch up on.

"Did the chem teacher show up?" Sango appeared beside me, phone slapped shut in hand before sliding into her purse. "Him and her don't usually get along really well."

"Why not? She seemed nice enough to me." Flicking through the dress rack, I gagged at the choices. Either I went as a pink marshmallow or a baby blue slut. Neither seemed appealing.

Sango bit her lower lip, playing with one of the tags on an ugly brown dress that dipped to the waist line. "Mrs. Noboru doesn't think that a hanyou, no matter how much money or the names they carry, should be allowed to live in society, let alone go to Shikon." Sango glowered at the dress, shoving it back. "When Sesshomaru first enrolled Inuyasha in the school, only demons and really rich humans got in. Sesshomaru said that Inuyasha fit into both categories. There weren't any rules against him going, but the school board nearly won out. If it wasn't Sesshomaru Takashi fighting them, they would have." Shoving the dress away, she started fidgeting with another.

I frowned, knowing that hanyou had never been treated equally, despite the laws stating equal treatment, but I had never had personally encountered one treated differently. Advancements had been made in both medical and legal treatments of youkai and hanyou, but humans had always been a bit…sketchy around them. Many restaurants refused service to those of youkai heritage, police profiled them, and doctors refused to treat them. Many feared the sheer power they possessed, the alien beauty and grace they moved with. Imperfect and immortality were causes of jealousy and rage, and the resulting crimes were met with sneers and hidden applause. But to refuse someone of an education, of an equal chance of live based on their parents, which they had no control of, chilled me to the bone.

Naraku had put the fear of youkai in me, but I had gained friends that drove it away. After Kouga found me one night after a 'night visit', he had taken it upon himself to make me feel like I had family. He had adopted me into his pack after the accident, made me feel safe.

"Inuyasha isn't the innocent victim, yeah, but the way they painted him at the hearing. Truly I had never wanted to be not part of the human species more then that night."

"What do you mean; he's not an innocent victim?" Had he done something to warrant suspicion?

"Small stuff, like trespassing, vandalism, shop lifting. He wanted attention, and he wasn't getting enough at home so he went out to find it. He dragged Miroku along for the ride, but he got off with slaps on the wrist for most of it because of his name. But when he was twelve, Sesshomaru put an end to it. Got him counseling, realized that he couldn't blow of being a guardian."

"What happened when he was twelve?"

Sango started, surprised to find she was still talking. "I'm not supposed to say, and I'm not going to. If you really want to know, you'll have to ask Inuyasha."

Sighing, I looked down at my watch. It was getting close to 6, and Aunt Kaede wanted me home by 8. "I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon…"

"What? Because he isn't talking to you?" Sango moved me to another rack, one with more elegant dresses, a few of them approaching the league of gown. "Pft, it's just his pride. You seen a weak moment of him, he doesn't like to show it."

Hopeful, I went back to browsing through the rack, awed and appalled by the prices. "Are you sure this is ok?"

Laughing, Sango pulled several dresses into her arms, holding them up to first herself, then me. "This green is really pretty on you, but the red is amazing. Which do you think, blue or light purple for me?"

Getting caught up in the shopping, I followed Sango around for a bit, before breaking out of my little shell to lead her myself. After the first few major buys, pressure from Sango causing my morals to buckle, I only had a small lingering echo of the voice in my head that said 'NO! Don't buy that!' Really, it was just encouraging me.

We left the mall an hour later, loaded down with two dresses, shoes, and various accessories that we couldn't go without. Stuffing it into the back seat of the silver Volvo, I was taken hostage to a nearby McDonald's; again using the card that Inuyasha lent us. I had to say; Sango was a more relaxing driver than Inuyasha was. No speeding, no light skating, or a tendency to strike up conversations with the passenger who was cringing into the seat.

Ordering up some hamburgers and fries, complete with the cups with American drawings and words. Taking up a booth at the back of the restaurant, Sango plopped down her tray and motioned me to the other side. "Spill, now."

"Eh?" I looked up over my burger; self-conscious of the large bite I had just taken.

"I have held it in long enough. Yesterday, the classes you missed, the night you spent at Inuyasha's. Details, now." She demanded, stabbing a red-topped fry in my direction.

"I don't think it's a big deal…"

"Wrong, try again. Inuyasha doesn't just take a liking to anyone." She said, pausing to eat a few fries, "It took him months to warm up to 'Roku, and that was just because I liked him." She scowled, and said under her breath, "Damn lecher…"

I thought about turning the conversation back on her, but figured that she would just find a way to turn it back to me, and I wasn't hiding anything. It's just, it was really embarrassing to talk to a girl I barely knew about a guy I had just met but had spent the night in the same bed.

Frowning, I turned my thoughts inward, aware that Sango still awaited my story. Did that make me a whore, like my cousin was so found of calling me? We hadn't done anything, but it was a little weird. Usually the reaction I had to new people left much to be desired and I didn't make new friends often. Trust was an issue that had been broken, melted down, and turned into the thing that looked over my shoulder every minute of every day. What exactly did happen with Inuyasha? Did he think I was easy? He didn't act like it, and had blushed when I asked him to stay with me. As a matter of fact, I had spent more time in his arms yesterday then not. After my fainting spell, he had been hard pressed to leave me alone, not that I wanted him to, but…

Without him here, it felt like I was missing a big piece of me that I had just found. Cliché yeah, but true. Was it Inuyasha himself or something about his soul that made him feel so safe? Did I need him as much as I thought or was I deluding myself with false hopes?

Would he leave me again?

"Kagome, you ok?" Sango waved a hand in front of my eyes, worry on her face. "You zoned out there for a moment."

"Yeah, I'm fine." I straightened my mask, making sure a smile that didn't seem to fake or brittle hid my grayer emotions. Forcing myself to speak, I gave Sango the details she wanted without spilling everything. "Inuyasha took me to my locker, and I…I had a small breakdown. He was really nice about the whole thing."

"Wait, you had a _breakdown_ and no body said anything to me? Inuyasha was _nice_ about it? Are we talking about the same hanyou here, because Inuyasha isn't very sensitive to the world around him." She interrupted herself, grabbing my hand. "Why did you have a breakdown anyway? You were crying right? Why!?"

"Chill ok." Extracting myself carefully from her grasp, I found the words that I had said to Inuyasha closer to the surface then before. Was it because I had actually talked to someone about it or something else? "You know about Kikyo and Naraku, right?"

"Who doesn't?"

"Do you know why Naraku left town?"

She did the 'yes no' gesture with her left hand, causing a purple string of beads, wrapped three times around her wrist, to smack together. "Rumors mostly. He cheated on Kikyo with someone else. I heard he actually killed somebody, and another rumor is that someone's out to kill him for encroaching on some gang's territory."

Taking a long drawn out sip from my drink to stall, I figured that the real event would have been twisted to save his and Kikyo's image. "If you call rape cheating, then yeah, he cheated on Kikyo."

Sango, who had gone to take a bite from her chicken sandwich, chocked and dropped it onto the tray. "Wh-what the hell?!" Her magenta eyes darted to me, growing wide. "Ho-how do you know that?"

I fiddled with my straw, uneasy. It wasn't hard to talk to Sango, not as much as that stupid therapist, but it wasn't like with Inuyasha. The words didn't want to escape from me. They hovered on my tongue, just needing that final push… "Why do you think Kikyo calls me a whore?"

Shock was an understatement for what shown on Sango's face.

Continuing like Sango wasn't gapping like a fish out of water; I picked up a fry, portraying a calmness I didn't feel. "Inuyasha took me back to my locker, and I got a little freaked out by being alone with him." Yeah, that was an understatement, I had wanted to run home and hide under the covers like I did when I was five. "He got upset, I think he thought I was afraid of _him_ and he promised me he wouldn't hurt me, and the confession just slipped out." That I couldn't understand. One minute I was handling the whole thing…better than traumatized, I hated the word 'fine'. The next I wanted to scream and hit and cry. Something in me reached out to Inuyasha, sought to make him understand. I didn't want him to think I feared him…it was a wrong feeling. He should love me…protect me. Like he promised this morning. "He just held me and talked to me about his parents. I fell asleep at the end though." Another mystery. I couldn't sleep in another's company I didn't know or trust, could barely stand to blink. No one understood what had been labeled an 'irrational fear' of my fellow humans. Inuyasha kept stripping my layers away, tearing through my walls like tissue paper. How did he do it? "He woke me up later, in time for seventh period." I hadn't had any nightmares. Not a one, only some far off dream of a dream. It had to do with a well I think…

Sango, who was listening with rapt attention, asked quietly. "And last night? What happened that made you spend the night? I didn't think Sesshomaru liked house guests."

Smiling without humor, I turned my mind over the same question. "He felt guilty."

That earned me a gasp. "He felt _guilty?_ Did you end up in the wrong house?"

"No, he said some things, and Inuyasha corrected him, I think." Frowning, I wondered what had happened while I was out. I remembered my nightmares, but not a lot else. Fire at the end, fire that burned away the image like a movie reel too long paused. Left me in the self same field. With my love… "I don't know; I passed out for awhile. Hyperventilated. He apologized later though. Inuyasha said Rin put him up to it." I had yet to see the elusive Rin that held so much power over the Ice King. From the picture she looked like a diminutive human, but a human couldn't have that much sway over the almighty Inu no Tashio of Japan.

"He _apologized?_ Did you get it on camera?"

Shaking my head no, I popped a cold French fry into my mouth. "Can we talk about something else?"

Nodding, a little in shock it seemed, she brightened at a thought. "Yeah, what happened this morning? Why did Inuyasha have a black eye that you put there? And why were you guys so mad Miroku?"

Groaning, I looked to the wall clock above her head.

…

"Kaede, I'm back!" I yelled, looking around for my elderly aunt. The much older sister of my mother, she was missing an eye from a childhood accident. Sweet and more grandmotherly then aunt worthy, I could never figure out how she raised Kikyo, the Queen Bitch. "Kaede?"

"In here Kagome. I am going to need your help, and your explanation for last night's disappearance. A boy's house was it?" Her aged voice carried through the house, floating from the kitchen.

I smacked myself in the head. Did I need to hold a meeting or something? 'Kagome's Life: Questions encouraged.'

"Just a second, let me put these up and I'll be right there." What to tell her? 'Hey Kaede, me and Inuyasha slept in the same bed, but it's alright because even though I met him just yesterday nothing happened? Did I forget to mention the fact that I have this weird urge that makes me want to run away with him? Yeah, I'll get the cookies for you…right after I take these pills? Great!'

My life kept getting more complicated.

And it was all Inuyasha's fault.

…

Walking up the stairs, I yawned. This morning seemed so far away, and bed drew me to it like a flame. Shower, bed. Wait, shower, homework, bed.

Kaede had been really understanding, all things considered. My mom wouldn't have freaked necessarily, but she wouldn't have been as understanding as Kaede had just been. If I didn't know better, I think she was encouraging me to be with Inuyasha.

Grabbing my night clothes and a towel, I headed for the bathroom. I wanted to call him; he had entered his cell number, home number, and work number into my phone, just in case. Of course, he hadn't said anything while he did it, keeping up his silent front. But Sango had said he was just hiding from me, trying to keep up the appearance of strength.

How did I explain to him that he was already overwhelming?

The shower was past Kikyo's room to the end of the hallway on the second floor. Creeping as quietly as possible, as I didn't want to attract attention from her, I tip-toed down the hallway, avoiding all the creaky boards. I had almost made it past her door when her enraged squawk came from the room, followed by shrill echoes.

"How dare that whore? First she takes Naraku from me and then she sets her sights on Inuyasha? Is she setting out to ruin my life?!" Kikyo whined, and the sound of shredding paper accented her words.

Sounds of sympathetic murmurs came after, and I recognized the voices. Kagura, Kanna, and Yura. She was pretty adamant about the inferiority of youkai and hanyou, but she still hung out with them. I bet they didn't know of her views.

"What do you propose we do? It's not like we can get rid of her." Yura spat, the sound of her brush going through her hair.

"Actually, that sounds like a good idea…" Kagura purred, and a slip of wind stirred the air around me. I inched farther away, trying not to get caught.

Kikyo let out a delighted laugh. "Oh, but I have a better idea. We might not be able to get rid of her, but I know someone who'd love to have her back." She giggled, and key tones harmonized off her phone. "Close the door Kagura, I don't want Kaede to hear this, or that little brat."

…

I wasn't surprised that Kikyo was jealous, but who was she calling? Naraku? No, if she knew where he was, wouldn't she be gone. Someone else then?

Unknown fears breed stress, and I wouldn't get any sleep if I stressed out.

I rolled my phone in my hands, wondering if I should call him. Would he answer? Why the hell did I want to call him anyway? Even if he did, why should he care?

Why did I think again earlier, when I thought of wanting him to love me again? It scared me. How did he leave me if I had never met him before? These thoughts weren't from me; they were from some past memory. Why were they here?

I wanted them. And I wanted them to go away. The torn feeling of my heart as I thought of that meadow, the one with the well. Why did it matter? Why did it appear with Inuyasha?

To call, and see if he knew the answers.

See if he saw the same things.

To see if he felt the same things.


End file.
